A Helping Hand
by avatar-chik
Summary: GaaxOC Gaara has always been hated, but when he moves with his siblings and starts at a new highschool, would things change? Please read and Review! Rated T for some language, cussing.
1. Chapter 1

**_DISCLAIMER: I do not own Naruto or any of the characters from Naruto. Kairi, however is my own character._**

**_This story is an alternate universe type thing I guess. Hope you all enjoy!_**

**CHAPTER 1**

_**Kairi's POV**_

The moment I laid my eyes on him, my stomach did somersaults. He was the definition of hot. He had short, spiky, blood red hair. His eyes were sea-green and he had thick black rings around them. His skin was rather pale, but I would expect that from a red head. He was very good looking, but that's not the only thing that caught my attention. I saw something in his eyes that entranced me. Whenever I looked into his eyes, I seemed to get lost in them.

I read him through his eyes. There was so much pain and loneliness in them. I wanted to know what he was hiding. I wanted to be with him. I wanted to befriend him. If only it were that easy.

The first time I had ever seen him was at the beginning of second quarter. He had apparently moved all the way from Suna. Like I mentioned before, I fell head over heels for him. I wasn't the only one either. Many girls fell for him. The second he walked into homeroom, the words "Hot" and "Sexy" were whispered amongst the females in the class room. I kept all of my thoughts to myself.

Even though I totally fell for him, I wasn't the one to react. At least I wasn't one to show my reactions, especially for boys. I had the "hots" for a boy once, and it ended up in tears and feeling like shit. I didn't want to have to go through that again. I figured that the best thing I could do was to stay as far away from him as possible.

That didn't work, especially since he chose a seat right in front of me. I especially didn't want much to do with him after one of the other preppy girls tried to flirt with him. I'm sure that she completely regretted ever trying to hit on him.

His voice is so cold and emotionless. That made the hateful words that he said to her even worse. Even though I hated that girl, I still felt pretty bad for her. That kid had no right to call her things he did.

My plans of trying to avoid him were also tested when I was assigned to be his school buddy. Basically, the school wanted me to show him around and make sure that he got to all of his classes easily. It wasn't that hard since he most of the same bells as me.

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"My name is Kairi," I said softly, introducing my self to the new student. He looked up at me with his piercing sea green eyes. He didn't need to talk. His eyes basically did it for him. They seemed to be asking, _"Why are you talking to me?"_ "The school councilor appointed me to be your school buddy. They want to make sure that you get around alright on your first day." The boy stared at me with a blank expression on his face. After a few moments, he finally nodded.

"I'm Gaara Sabaku," he told me. His voice was hushed and emotionless, just like his face. The sound of his voice sent chills up my spine.

"Can I see your schedule?" Without a word, Gaara slowly reach into his pocket, pulling out a folded piece of paper and handing it to me. I unfolded it and quickly looked it over. "You and I have most of our classes together," I told him, smiling politely at him. He still stared at me with the same blank expression.

"Is that supposed to be a good thing?" he asked emotionlessly. I frowned at him and handed his schedule back to him.

"Let's just head to second period," I said, wanting to end the tension building between us. He was getting me incredibly frustrated. I wasn't even doing anything to him. The most that I did was try to befriend him.

Second period was biology. It wasn't my favorite class, but it was a class that I was really good at. My favorite period was art. I had a big thing for art and I loved being able to do it. Gaara wasn't bad at art himself. He was pretty one dimensional at it, but that's better than not being able to do it at all.

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_**Gaara's POV**_

On my first day at my new school, I was given a "school buddy". It was a girl by the name Kairi. She has jet black hair that goes down to the middle of her back. Her eyes are a deep shade of blue, which I find to be a bit odd. I haven't seen many people with jet black hair and blue eyes, unless their hair was dyed. She was rather slender, but she had the perfect shape to her body. I figured that she was probably dating. I couldn't see why a guy wouldn't want to, unless she had a bitchy personality.

We have most of our classes together. The only classes we don't have together are 5th period and 7th period. We even have the same lunch period. She sat with me at lunch that day. I told her that she didn't have to. I told her to go sit with her friends. She just smiled at me and shook her head.

"I don't really have any friends," she told me. This totally took me by surprise. It was hard to believe that she didn't have any friends. I didn't necessarily feel bad for her. After all, I've gone through the same thing almost my entire life. When I looked into her eyes, I saw something else there too. I saw more than just loneliness. I saw the same pain that I have. I saw the same fear and hate that I have. There was something about that girl that I just couldn't get over. There was something that attracted me to her, yet I did my best to ignore it. I didn't want to be stabbed in the back again. I didn't want to have to go through that agony again. But still….

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**CHAPTER 2**

_**Kairi's POV**_

Gaara had been in our school for two weeks now. We got our tests back a couple days ago. I aced it with a 100. Gaara, however, failed it miserably. The teacher told him that he could retake the test, but Gaara looked as though he wouldn't pass it no matter how many times he took it.

"Would you like some help?" I asked him. Gaara stared at me with his emotionless face.

"Why would you want to help me?" he asked. I frowned at him and shook my head.

"Do you want my help or not?" I asked. I was getting tired of his attitude. I really have no idea why I even offered to help him out. That is so unlike me.

Gaara stared at me for a few more moments before finally nodding.

"I don't have anything to do after school today," I told him. "If you want, we can walk to my house." Again Gaara nodded.

"I'll meet you outside of the school," he said softly. I watched as he got up when the bell rang.

_"How can he stay so emotionless?" _I wondered. I just couldn't see how he could stay so emotionless all the time. It seemed impossible.

I met Gaara outside the school. I was about 5 minutes late, but I didn't think it would be much of a problem. I was apparently wrong.

"What took you so long?" Gaara asked coldly, glaring at me with those cold eyes of his. I just looked at him with disgust. He seemed to be taken back by the look I gave him, and I was surprised. I didn't think that it was that bad.

"Let's just go and get this over with," I grumbled, walking ahead of him. I really wasn't in the mood to put up with his shit. I put up with enough shit as it is. I don't need him to add to it.

During my 7th period class, the teacher was late for class. Some of the students took that as a chance for them to pick on me and make total asses of themselves. I tried standing up for myself, but there is so much that I can do. I could have punched their faces in, but I would have also gotten kicked out of school for that. I can't afford for that to happen. Not only that, but my mother would totally kill me, and I mean that literally.

That is one reason I hate boys. They are all so cruel and mean. All they ever want is either sex or power. They have to feel like they have more power over everyone else. Some of the girls aren't much better. Some of the girls are just as power hungry. They have to make just about everyone else feel like dirt. And for some reason, I seem like a weakling to them. I know my mother thinks of me as a weakling, but why would everyone else think that. If only they knew how strong I really was. I'm a black belt in two different styles of taijutsu. If I wouldn't get in trouble with the school, they would all be in a great deal of pain.

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_**Gaara's POV**_

I walked alongside Kairi as we walked to her house. Neither of us said a word the entire time. I was actually surprised by this. I thought that she would have been more talkative. She definitely appeared to be that way when I first met her. Then again, maybe I was witnessing the true Kairi. Maybe this is what I saw in her eyes.

_"What could have broken through?" _I wondered to myself. I quickly shook the thoughts out of my head. I couldn't believe that I was letting this girl clog my mind. There was no way that I was going to let some girl do this to me.

After about a 5-10 minute walk, we were walking down my street. We walked down about 5 houses until we walked up the walkway and into a 2 story house. I hadn't realized that the two of us were neighbors. I have been here for almost 2 weeks and was just now figuring out that she lived two houses down the street from me. I wonder if she knew that we were neighbors.

Kairi led me up a flight of stairs, and down the hallway into her room. I followed her inside and watched as she pulled a chair over to her bed. She motioned for me to sit, and I did. She took out a biology book from her backpack.

"You probably want to take out your notes," she told me.

"I didn't bring my notes," I told her, folding my arms across my chest. She frowned at me and sighed in frustration.

"Then take something out to take notes with," she instructed.

I just looked at her blankly, not moving a muscle. This seemed to make her even more frustrated.

"If you don't care about what grade you get in biology, then just leave," she told me. "If you want to improve your grade and want my help, I'll be more then happy to help you." I nodded and got my notebook out of my backpack. She got her notes out as well and opened up the book to the chapter we just had a test over.

"I don't want to waste more time than what is needed, so just tell me what you had the most trouble understanding." I shrugged. I really had trouble understanding most of it.

"All of it really," I told her. She sighed again, rubbing her temples with her fingers. She flipped through the 5th chapter and asked me which sections I understood. She marked down all of the sections that I didn't understand.

I had no idea how organized she was. It was as if she was my own personal tutor. She explained everything in a way that I was able to understand. I part of the reason I was doing so bad was the fact that I didn't understand a word that the teacher was saying. When Kairi, explained it, everything just clicked. I was actually very glad that she had offered to help me. I didn't let her know it, all though I probably should have, and I didn't let it show either.

After about an hour, she had finished explaining just about everything I needed to know for the chapter. She then stood up. I followed her lead and got up as well. I shoved my things back into my backpack and quickly zipped it up.

Kairi walked me to the door, opening it for me.

"I hope that helped," she said, smiling slightly. I nodded.

"I guess I'll be seeing you tomorrow," I grumbled. I didn't intend it to come out the way it did. Kairi didn't seem to care. I think she knew that I didn't mean to sound all upset about it. I turned and left before she could continue the conversation out any longer.

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_**Kairi's POV**_

I finished doing my homework and went downstairs to fix myself some dinner. I put in my "Breaking Benjamin" CD so that I wouldn't have to eat by myself in silence. It doesn't exactly fill the void of having company, but it helps. It's better than having to deal with the silence of an empty house.

My mother is hardly ever home the same time as I am. Whenever she is, she's usually asleep or is completely wasted from the night before. I try to avoid her as much as I can when she's awake. She's always criticizing me or is trying to bring me down. She doesn't like me to be happy with myself. She makes sure that I am feeling like hell. She blames me for sending my father to jail. It was partially my fault, but I would have never had to call the cops if he wouldn't have been trying to hurt her and me. He brought it on himself.

I silently eat and listen to "Breath". I like how the lead singer's voice sounds on it. When I finished, I washed the dishes that I had dirtied, dried them off and put them away. When that was all done, I turned off the CD player, took the CD out, and ran up to my room. I popped the CD in and pressed play. I laid on my bed and stared up at the ceiling as "Diary of Jane" played. I closed my eyes and let my mind wander. I let all my problems disappear into the back of mind. There was one thing that I couldn't get out of my mind though. It was Gaara. I don't know why I couldn't get him out of my head.

What was it about him that had me so attracted? I had never felt this attracted to a guy before. Sure I have had little puppy crushes on guys before, but nothing like this. Gaara was different than most of the guys I have known.

I sighed and rolled off of my bed as "Evil Angel" began playing. I walked over and sat down in front of my painting easel. I clipped up a clean sheet of paper. I took out some paint and squirted a couple of the colors out onto the paint pallet. I dipped my brush into the paint and then began to spread the paint out on the paper. I used long, even strokes, painting a faint outline to what I was painting. I didn't even know what I was going to paint. I just did what my mind told me to do. When I paint, I hardly ever think about what I'm going to paint or draw. I just do it. That's how it has always worked with me.

Three songs went by before I got most of it done. All that was left was to put in the fine details. I frowned when I saw that it was Gaara. I didn't want to finish painting him, since I didn't even want him on my mind. Even so, I finished it and I did a very good job on it if I do say so myself. I captured every feature of his body perfectly. I even caught the sad story his eyes told. I got up, leaving the painting where it was so it could finish drying. I looked at the clock and sighed inwardly. It was almost 10.

I went over to my dresser and stripped myself of my clothes and got into my pajamas. I turned off the CD player and the lights, and then crawled under my covers.

_"What is this feeling I have for Gaara?" _I asked myself. I fell asleep before I could come up with an answer.

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_**Gaara's POV**_

I wasn't even home for a minute before Temari started asking questions.

"Where were you?" my older sister, Temari, asked angrily. "You better not have been getting into any fights." My siblings always think that I'm getting into fights if I'm not at home.

"I was getting some help with my school work," I said, pushing my way past her and going into my room. I shut the door behind me and locked it. I threw my backpack down beside my door and plopped down on my bed. Sighing in frustration, I buried my face into my pillow. I couldn't get Kairi out of my mind. Why couldn't I stop thinking about her? It was driving me insane.

I got up and crawled to the end of my bed. I turned on the TV and my PS2. I picked up the controller and began playing mindless video games until my brother, Kankurou came banging on my door. I saved my game and turned it off before getting up and heading downstairs for dinner.

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_**So what did you all think. Please Review and let me know!**_

**_In my past stories, I have been known to make my entries a little short, but I have been working on making them longer. Anyway, please review! It would mean the world to me! I'd like at least 5 reviews before I post up the next chapter. I have about 7 more chapters typed up, so the more reviews I get, the sooner I will post the next chapter. Hope you all enjoyed!_**


	2. Chapter 2

**CHAPTER 3**

_**Kairi's POV**_

When I saw Gaara the next day at school, I tried to ignore him as much as possible. He was the only thing my mind could really focus on and it was driving me insane. School helped a little, except the fact that we had 5 classes together and he sat close to me in each one. Still, I was able to concentrate on my school work for the most part. Instead of eating in the lunchroom with him, I skipped lunch and spent it in the library. I probably would have done that whether I was trying to avoid Gaara or not. I had an English test 7th period and I really needed to get some last minute studying in. I wasn't really good at English, especially since I hardly ever did any of the reading I was supposed to.

During 6th period, Gaara gave me a weird look. Once again, I knew what he was thinking just by looking into his eyes. He was wondering where I was for lunch. I ignored him and sat down at my art easel.

I put up a clean sheet of paper and took out some charcoal. I pressed the black chalk-like substance up against the paper and slowly made a downward motion.

After about 10 minutes, I finished the outline of my drawing. I was kind of relieved that it wasn't a picture of Gaara. That would have been a little embarrassing to explain, especially if Gaara would have seen it. So far, it was a picture of a girl lying down. The rest of the picture was blank and would be filled in as I went along.

After shading in some things, drawing the background, and adding some more detail to everything, I was finished. I got up and stepped back to view my work.

Even though it wasn't a picture of Gaara, it was still something that I didn't want to see. It reminded me about something that happened in my childhood.

It was a picture of a girl lying on the hardwood floor. She was lying with her knees pulled to her chest. In the doorway were two shadowy figures. It made more sense to me, but anyone else who looked at it wouldn't understand it the same way that I did. After all, it was based on what I had experienced when I was a child, only it was a lot more vivid. It's definitely something that I wouldn't forget, at least not this early in life.

Gaara came up behind me and looked at it with a blank expression on his face. We just stood like that for a few moments, neither of us saying a word. I broke the moment by cleaning up my mess. The last thing I did was taking my drawing down and put it in my art slot. I didn't want to turn it in just yet, especially since it wasn't that good. I would wait to see what I drew the next day.

"I have to retake my test tomorrow," Gaara suddenly said. I gave him a strange look and slowly nodded.

"I guess I can quiz you after school," I told him. "That's if you want me to." Gaara closed his eyes and nodded. I kind of figured that Gaara was incapable of asking questions. Instead, he would make a statement hinting to the question that needed to be asked. That was one characteristic Gaara had that was annoying at times, and entertaining at others.

"We can't go to my place, and I only have a half an hour. I'll meet you in the school library and we can study in there." Gaara nodded and went back over to where his stuff was.

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_**Gaara's POV**_

I met Kairi in the library. This time, she was actually early. I don't know how she could tell, but she somehow sensed that I was a bit surprised.

"Like I said, I only have a half an hour," she told me. I nodded and took a seat at the table.

We got to work right away. She asked me random questions about things that were in the 5th chapter, and I answered them. Then she would tell me whether I was right or wrong.

After about 20 questions, she told me that I got 15 correct. When she told me this, I wasn't that surprised. I had actually begun understanding some of it.

She took out a piece of paper and scribbled down a couple of things.

"You should probably take a quick look over these things tonight," she told me. She handed the paper to me and I folded it up and stuffed it into my pocket. "Those are the things you had trouble answering and what you missed completely. That should help you so that you don't waste your time reviewing stuff you already know."

"Thanks," I muttered. Kairi raised an eyebrow and smirked at me.

"Did I just receive a thank you?" she asked teasingly. I just frowned and got up. I picked my back pack up and headed for the door.

I was a bit surprised when Kairi ran past me and rushed out the door. I looked at the clock on the wall and realized that we stayed 10 minutes over what she was able to stay. I just smirked and continued my way home.

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**CHAPTER 4**

_**Kairi's POV**_

The next morning, I watched as Gaara got the results to his re-take back. He must have come early in the morning and took it, otherwise he wouldn't have gotten it back until tomorrow. I reached over and snatched the paper out of his hand. He just glared at me and I stuck my tongue out at him.

I was in a really good mood. My mom didn't holler at me the night before, or that morning. As a matter of fact, she even smiled at me. It had been a long time since she smiled a sincere smile. I was shocked, but happy at the same time. I knew that it wouldn't last for long, but that didn't mean that I could enjoy it for a short period of time.

I looked down at Gaara's score and smirked.

"I knew you could get an A," I snickered. Gaara took his test back from me and looked at his score, since I kind of took it from him before he had gotten the chance to look at it. He had gotten a 94, which was really good.

"If you want, I'd be happy to study biology with you so you don't have to do anymore re-takes." Gaara looked up from his paper and nodded. "I can't do it on Tuesdays or Thursdays though." Once again he nodded.

At lunch, I sat with Gaara like I usually did.

"You were in a good mood this morning," he said in his normal, emotionless voice. I smirked to myself, realizing he avoided asking another question by making a statement.

"And you ask your questions by making statements," I replied teasingly. He didn't react at all so I just went to just giving him an answer. "I was in a good mood this morning. You had better enjoy it while you can because it probably won't last very long.

I was right when I said that. I was pissed off by the end of 7th bell. Once again, this stupid group of boys started harassing me again. Sadly, there are only 3 girls out of 18 students in my 7th period. Most of the boys in that class are absolute asses. They don't just harass me, but the other 2 girls as well. I swear, if any of them mess with me or any of the other girls outside of school, they will be in a world of hurt. I wonder if Gaara has to deal with any of this.

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_**Gaara's POV**_

Just like Kairi said, her mood didn't last very long. I could see that she was fuming after school had ended. I was actually considering just avoiding her because she looked like she was about to snap at anyone. Still, I went up to her anyway. If she snapped at me, she wouldn't be the first.

I was slightly relieved that she didn't go off on me. She actually seemed to calm down a bit when she saw me.

"What are you doing here?" she asked me. "We're not studying today after school." I nodded.

"We live on the same street," I told her.

"I know. You live two doors down on the right."

_"So she did notice," _I thought to myself.

"I'm guessing you want to walk home together, right?" I shrugged and she sighed in aggravation. "I really wish you would give me a definite answer," she sighed.

We walked down the streets together, neither of us saying a word. I didn't mind the silence. I am actually kind of used to it. I prefer this over people whispering things about me behind my back.

When we reached Kairi's house, she gave me a wave before walking up the driveway to her house. I watched her go until she disappeared into her house. Once I couldn't see her anymore, I continued on to my house.

When I entered, I was of course met by my sister.

"You're not late today!" she exclaimed. "How'd you do on your re-take?" She still doesn't believe that I have been out studying. She doesn't think that it is possible for me to get along with somebody long enough for them to help me study. That would normally be true, but somehow, it wasn't that way with Kairi.

"I got a 94," I told her. I slipped my backpack off my shoulder and took out my re-take. I shoved it at her and made my way upstairs and into my room. As usual, I locked the door behind me.

I attempted doing my homework, but gave up after about an hour. I just couldn't think straight anymore.

I laid down on my bed and covered my face with my pillow. Why couldn't I get Kairi out of my mind? It was driving me absolutely crazy. It was as if I actually cared about her. Did I?

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	3. Chapter 3

**_I know I said that I wanted at least 5 reviews before continuing, and I know it has only been one day, but I really wanted to get this one out. I read through it and looked for errors. I should have found most of them and corrected them. I hope you all like this chapter._**

**_I'd also like to thank my first and only reviewer thus far, demona013. You Rock!!_**

**_And now, on with the chapter!_**

**CHAPTER 5**

_**Saturday Morning**_

_**Gaara's POV**_

I slowly woke up from my brother banging on the door.

"Wake up Gaara!" Kankurou hollered from the other side of the door. "You have company!"

_Who would possibly be coming to visit me?_

I slowly rolled out of bed and lazily made my way to the door. When I opened it, there she was.

"What are you doing Kairi?" I mumbled sleepily. She smiled and held up her biology book. I groaned and was about to slam the door in her face. She somehow predicted that I was going to do that. She quickly slipped past me and stood behind me with an evil smirk. I glared at her, but she wasn't fazed at all by it.

I finally sighed in defeat. I moped over to my bed and quickly made it before taking a seat on top of the covers. I motioned for her to join me. All I wanted to do was get this over with, so that she could leave as soon as possible.

Kairi sat down on the bed and opened the text book. She handed me a notepad and a pen so I could take notes. I guess she figured that I wasn't in the best mood to be doing anything.

We studied the stupid chapter for almost two hours. Once again, she managed to explain it much better than the teacher. I wonder if she is going to be a teacher when she gets older. She'll make a good one if she does.

Temari busted into my room just as Kairi was cleaning up her things.

"Gaara, does your friend want to stay for lunch?" Temari asked. I looked over at Kairi and she looked over at me, as if she were asking for my permission. I looked back over at Temari and nodded. I don't know why though. Maybe she'll stay away if my siblings scare her enough.

Temari left, telling us that lunch will be ready in 10 minutes.

"I'm sorry I came over on a Saturday," Kairi apologized. "I'm leaving tonight and I'm going to be gone for 4 days." I nodded and got up.

"Will you take notes for me during class?" she asked. Again, I nodded. I didn't see any harm in that, especially after helping me after school with my studies.

The two of us walked downstairs and into the kitchen.

"Are you going to introduce your friend to us?" Temari asked as we sat down at the table. I sighed, but nodded.

"Kairi, that is my older sister Temari," I introduced, nodding towards my sister. "And that is my older brother Kankurou." I pointed at my brother sitting across the table. Kairi smiled and looked down at her feet.

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_**Kairi's POV**_

"So how did you and my little brother become friends?" Kankurou asked me, a smirk on his face. To be honest, I really didn't know. I didn't really consider us to be friends since we only hung out at lunch or after school when I helped him with biology.

"I just started helping him with his biology is all." Kankurou's smirk grew even wider, as if he didn't believe me. It kind of made me angry.

"Leave them alone Kankurou," Temari warned. She put a plate down in front of us and took a seat next to me. "I hope Gaara hasn't been causing you too much trouble." Besides the fact that he was always inside me head, he was really no trouble at all. He was someone I could just hang out with, even if all we were doing was studying.

"He's great," I told her. Everyone looked at me in complete shock. Even Gaara seemed to be a bit surprised.

I felt like a total idiot.

"He's very smart," I added, trying to cover up my stupidity. "If our teacher wasn't such a dope, I wouldn't even need to help him." Temari nodded and continued eating.

"I hated biology," Kankurou muttered. I smiled and chuckled.

"Why?" I asked.

"I just couldn't understand anything. I don't understand anything in the science field."

"That's not hard to believe," I replied quietly, smirking. Temari snickered and Gaara smirked. Kankurou glared at me and continued eating.

After I finished, I got the reast of my stuff together. Gaara walked me to the door and watched as I walked down to my house.

I hurried upstairs into my room and turned on my CD player. I sang along to Breaking Benjamin as I packed my suitcase. I was really excited. I was going away from all my problems at home for 4 whole days. I was going to be competing in a mixed martial arts tournament. I would be traveling with Gai-sensei and Lee. They are both really weird, but they are really great people.

I was also hoping that this trip would help me forget about Gaara. Either that, or help me find out why I can't stop thinking about him. I don't know, but it will hopefully help me in some way.

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**CHAPTER 6**

_**Gaara's POV**_

It has been two days, and I'm going insane. Not seeing her in school drove me crazy. I had hoped that her being gone would help me sort out everything that was happening to me. I had hoped that it would help me forget about her, since I wouldn't be able to see her. It only made things worse. I can't even concentrate in school. I do my best, but she's always there in the back of my head, threatening to come out. Why is this happening to me?

I sometimes wish that I never moved here. It has made everything so difficult. I wonder if she's enjoying the pain that she has been putting me through. I bet she's doing this on purpose. I bet my father put her up to this.

If I knew where the hell he was, I'd kill him myself. He had always loved seeing me in pain. That's why when Temari turned 18, she used the money mom left us and took us with her when she moved out. The only reason she took me along is because I was her brother. I don't think she really cared about me that much. If she did, she would have done more to stop father when he would beat me. Instead, she just cowered in the corner and let him do his worst.

Another day went by, along with another sleepless night. I used to be able to at least get a little bit of sleep. Now, I can't get any sleep. Kairi is haunting my mind. I keep telling myself that she's coming back tomorrow and everything will go back to normal. I know that I'm just lying to myself. I don't even know what normal is anymore. Ever since the first day Kairi and I met, my life has been nothing but normal. What is wrong with me?

**XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO**

_**Kairi's POV**_

I had the most difficult time with concentrating. At least the first two days I did. It was horrible. I couldn't get him out of my mind at all. I ended up getting tons of bruises from my matches. I lost my practice match. It was a good thing that it was only a practice match; otherwise I would have been eliminated.

Each match lasted until someone was unable to continue, or until one of the opponents gave in. We had two matches a day, one in the morning and one at night. You don't find out who you're about to spar until your opponent on the mat. It's all about technique, adapting, and endurance.

I definitely had the endurance part. I get pretty banged up during the practice round and the first day. I had a huge bruise on my stomach, a busted lip, and a giant bruise on my leg. I was sore everywhere. Still, I just ignored the pain and pushed my way through. I was definately glad that I was a jujitsu user. It definately worked to my advantage.

After my match on the third day, Lee stopped by my room to talk to me.

"I can tell there is something on your mind Kairi," he said, sitting down next to me on my bed. I was trying to wrap up my wrist, but was having a bit of trouble doing so. He took my wrist and wrapped it up for me.

"How do you know?" I asked him, watching as he wound the bandages around my thin wrist. He looked up at me and smiled.

"You are the best fighter in your division," he said with a grin. "There is no reason for you to be taking so long taking your opponents out. Plus, you wouldn't be so banged up." I sighed and closed my eyes.

"I don't know why," I told him.

Lee has been my only friend for some time now. I only get to see him when I'm at training, or when he wants me to teach him so moves. He was like an older brother to me. I told him just about everything, over sparring of course. I would trust Lee with my life if I needed to.

He didn't always have the best advice, since he usually based his advice off of his own experiences. And trust me, his experiences are so uncomparible to mine.

"Well what's clouding your mind Kairi?" he asked. "If you talk about it, you might feel better."

"Why do you care so much Lee," I asked, looking into his brown eyes. He smiled and chuckled at me.

"I care for several reasons. One, I want to see you win your first tournament. Two, I'm your friend and that's what friends do. Three, when something is bugging you, it bugs me as well." I smirked at him.

"So you're having boy trouble lee?" I asked teasingly. Lee looked at me with wide eyes, making me laugh. Lee was one of the only people who could make me really laugh.

"Is that what is troubling you?" I slowly nodded. "Is he hurting you?" I shook my head.

"I like him, I guess. The only problem is that I can't get him out of my head. Most of my drawings and paintings have been of him. I think I'm going insane." Lee laughed at me and shook his head.

"I don't know much about this, being a guy and all." I smirked at him and nodded.

"Unless you are gay," I teased.

"Are we going to have to go through this again?" he asked, rolling his eyes at me.

"No," I giggled. "Even if you were, you'd still be my best friend." Lee smiled and thanked me.

"Anyway, back to your boy problem. I think you might be experiencing the 'love bug'." I gave him a weird look which made him laugh at me.

"How would you know about love?" I asked, folding my arms over my chest. "You have never had a single girlfriend." He smirked at me and patted me on the head.

"That doesn't mean that I haven't felt love before." I frowned and apologized. "You shouldn't worry about it to much, but you should definitely keep it in the back of your mind."

"I've been doing that and look what it's doing to me!" He put a gentle hand on my shoulder, telling me to calm down.

"Then you should definately talk to him." I looked down at the ground bashfully.

"I don't think that's a good idea," I mumbled.

"Why not?" he asked.

"He probably wouldn't take it very well. Plus, I highly doubt that he would return the feeling." Lee shrugged.

"So? The reason you should tell him is so that you can clear your conscience. If you end up getting hurt, I know you'll get over it. You're too strong hearted to let something like that get you down. You have a very youthful heart, on and off of the mats." I smiled and nodded.

"You are the youthful one Lee," I giggled. He grinned and nodded. I thanked him and gave him a hug. Lee was the only one that I didn't mind hugging. He was my friend, my unofficial older brother.

"Now, you better kick butt tonight!" I smirked and nodded.

"I'll have them on the ground, begging for mercy!"

"That's the youthful spirit I know and love!"

**XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO**

**_Hehehehe... I just had to add Rock Lee into here. I didn't make his character as dramatic, especially in a situation like this. I've always thought of Lee as a compassionate type of person with a caring heart, so that is what I made him._**

**_Like I said before, I'd like to get at least 5 reviews before I put up the next chapter, So Please Review. Hoped you all enjoyed._**


	4. Chapter 4

**_Alright, I know I keep saying that I'm not going to post until I get a certain amount of reviews. Well I'm dashing that. I can't help it. I'm just getting into this way too much. Plus, the sooner I get this story done and out of the way, the sooner I can get on to writing the sequel to "Letters..." Anyway, I hope you all enjoy this chapter. It's definately a biggy._**

* * *

_**Gaara's POV**_

It was Wednesday, and Kairi had finally returned to school. As I sat down in my seat for History, I noticed that she had bruises all over her face.

"You don't look so good," I told her. She turned around and smirked at me

"Yeah, I figured as much." I was expecting her to explain what happened, but she turned back around in her seat and was silent. I didn't really care if she told me the reason why or not. It wasn't really any of my business, and I really could have cared less what was going on with her.

"At lunch, I sat with Kairi like I normally did. I never understood why she sat with me. Most kids would go out of their way to avoid me. I didn't mind her company though. I was actually somewhat comforting.

I looked over at her and saw her writing a note on a piece of loose leaf paper. After spending a few minutes writing it, she folded it up and set it aside while she finished her lunch.

After about 10 minutes, the bell rang for lunch to end. The two of us got up, and threw our remaining lunch away. Before turning going our separate ways, Kairi shoved the note into my hand and quickly walked away. I was a bit confused, but continued on to my English class.

I sat down in my seat and opened the note, slowly reading the contents. As I read it, I could feel my body growing stiffer and stiffer. Why does this have to happen? The note read:

_Gaara,_

_This will probably end up ruining everything we have built up, but I can't keep this in any longer. Ever since I met you, I haven't been able to stop thinking about you. When I told this to my friend, he suggested that I might love you. I'm not really sure, but it definitely seems logical. I understand if you hate me after this, but I just had to tell you. I'm so sorry._

_Love,_

_Kairi_

Love? Like she said, it all made sense. Maybe I was experiencing love too?

My feelings were going haywire. Why did she have to tell me this now? Why did any of this have to happen?

I ignored her during art. She didn't seem to be bothered by it. It was as if she were expecting it to happen.

**XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO**

_**Kairi's POV**_

Lee was right when he said that I might feel hurt afterwards. He failed to tell me how much pain I would feel.

The pain was almost unbearable. It was almost as painful as the day my father got sent to jail and swore to kill me when he got out. It was almost as painful as knowing that my father hates me and my mother would never fully love me. It almost hurts as much as the bruises and scars I have received from my parents.

Gaara ignored me during art class yesterday, after I had given him the note. I had expected him to do something like that. I stayed strong until I came home. Once I walked through my door, I regretted ever writing that stupid note. I didn't care if he loved me back or not. I just wanted us to be friends.

Gaara didn't even talk to me at all today. It was when he ignored me that I knew that I truly did love him. After school, I went straight home. I didn't even bother going to the dojo for my training with sensei and Lee. I stayed home and laid in my bed, feeling completely depressed. It was just as my father had said. No one would ever love me.

**XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO**

_**Gaara's POV**_

Why did she have to say any of that stuff? Why did she have to go and ruin everything? Why did she have to bring back all of this pain?

I ignored her all week at school. I just couldn't bring myself to say anything, and I didn't want to either. I have been feeling absolutely miserable. If she would have just left everything alone, none of this would have happened.

By Monday, her bruises have started healing and she didn't look as beat up as she did the week before. I tried not to pay any attention to her, but I couldn't. In art class, I couldn't do any work because all my drawings were of her. Every time, I would crumble the paper up and toss it into the recycling bin. I haven't gotten any sleep since she told me, so I have been extremely out of it as well.

After school on Wednesday, I collapsed on my bed and fell asleep from complete exhaustion. I wished that it would have been a dreamless sleep, but it wasn't.

I woke up several times that night. Each time, I was covered in sweat, my heart was racing, and I was breathing as if I had just sprinted a mile. I would try to stay up so that I wouldn't have to go through another nightmare. It was of no use. My body was just too exhausted for me not to.

Most of the dreams were of my father, and how he used to abuse me. I say that I will kill him, but in real life, I am terrified of him. I wanted to kill him, but wanting something and actually doing it are two totally different things. The truth is that I would never really be able to stand up to my father. He will always over power me, just like he did when I was younger. He will always find a way expose my weaknesses and then use them against me.

**XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO**

_**Kairi's POV**_

The nightmares have started coming back. I would see my mother and father start fighting. Then father would get violent with and would start beating her. After she was unconscious, he took out the rest of his anger on me.

Not only did the nightmares come back, but my mother has started getting violent with me. She has never gotten violent with me before. It scares me greatly.

I know that I know how to fight. I could take her out easily, but I could never bring myself to do that. She's my mother. I'd rather just suck it up and take the beating. I don't want to hurt her and most of all, I don't want to become like her. I will not resort to getting violent with her. It's not that bad anyway. She is nowhere as bad as father was. She hasn't even drawn any blood yet, or left any bruises. The most she does is smack me. She's drunk when she does it, so it's not even with full force.

I don't think she really wants to hurt me. I think that it's just the effect of the alcohol, or at least that's what I want to believe.

Because of everything else that has been happening, my pain over Gaara has lessened. I still miss him and all, and I know that I love him. I just need to push on now. It's just like when I'm sparring. No matter how much it hurts, I just need to push through it and keep fighting.

**ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo**

I talked to Lee today. After lessons, he treated me to some frozen yogurt.

"Did you talk to him yet?" Lee asked me, licking his ice cream cone. I sadly nodded.

"We haven't said a word to each other since then," I told him, stirring the frozen yogurt in my little dish.

"I'm sorry," Lee apologized. I smiled at him and shook my head.

"Don't be," I told him. "I have to learn about this feeling sooner or later, right? I'd rather it be now." Lee smiled and patted me on the back.

"You are truly strong Kairi. That, and truly weird." I smirked at him, giving him a playful jab in the arm.

"I'm truly weird?" I asked. "I'm not the one who goes around screaming Youth!" He grinned.

"I don't do that anymore."

"No, you don't do it as much." I corrected.

**XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO**

_**Gaara's POV**_

It's been over two weeks since Kairi and I talked to each other. Today, Temari finally decided to step in.

I was up in my room, trying to do my homework when Temari just barged in. I glared at her as she walked over, taking a seat next to me on the edge of the bed.

"Do you know what 'knock first' means?" I asked, slightly aggravated. She narrowed her eyes at me, letting me know she meant business.

"No stalling," she warned me. "You know why I'm in here, so start talking." I just stared at her, staying silent. She sighed. "Neither of us is leaving this room until you spill your guts baby brother." I was pissed now.

"It's none of your concern!" I snapped, intensifying my glare. She did the same right back at me.

"Yes it is Gaara! You haven't been eating much and you've been getting less sleep that usual. I have given you enough time to sort it out on your own and it hasn't gotten any better."

"How would you know?" I asked her bitterly.

"Your nightmares have been coming back," she said softly. I looked up at her in shock. Her eyes were filled with sadness and concern.

"_How did she know?"_

"I can tell that it's not school this time." I shook my head, looking away from her eyes. "I'm thinking that it has something to do with that girl, Kairi. Am I right?" I inhaled deeply and nodded. "What happened that has you so messed up? She seemed nice enough and it looked like she actually liked you."

_If only she knew the half of it._

"She said that she loved me," I whispered.

I thought she would look at me as if I was crazy, but she didn't. She looked at me with sympathy, like she understood what made those words so painful. Instead of telling me to suck it up and deal with it like some siblings would, she showed compassion towards me. Sometimes I wondered if this is what a having a mother was like.

My body grew tense as she wrapped her arms around me and pulled me into an embrace. I sat there as stiff as a board, but after a couple minutes, my body started to relax. I felt like I was a small child. Most people don't like feeling like little children again. I was one of those people, but this feeling was a bit different. It was comforting and I didn't want it to end.

"I think I might love her too," I whispered to my sister. With one of her hands, she ruffled my hair.

"And now you're avoiding her?" I nodded. "That isn't being very fair to Kairi, don't you think?" I looked up at her, a little confused.

"Telling someone that you love them isn't a very easy thing to do. I understand why you're reacting this way, but Kairi doesn't."

"She doesn't need to know," I grumbled. Temari nodded.

"I know she doesn't, but I think you would benefit from telling someone about it. I mean, haven't you noticed that you didn't start having these nightmares again until after you started ignoring Kairi?" She was right. They started up again a couple of days after the incident with Kairi, and I had severed my relationship with her.

"How do I tell her?" I asked, pulling away from my older sister. She frowned and shook her head.

"I really don't know. There isn't an easy way to do it. Just sit down with her and talk." I sighed and nodded. Temari gave me a small smile and one last hug before getting up and leaving me to myself.

**ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo**

That Saturday, I walked over to Kairi's house to talk to her. I still wasn't very sure about what I was going to say, but I knew that it had to be done. Temari was right. It wasn't fair to keep Kairi in the dark. She deserved to know a little bit at least. It might even help me out a bit as well.

When I knocked on the door, an older woman greeted me. I assumed that it was her mother.

"Is Kairi home?" I asked softly. The woman shook her head.

"She left about an hour ago," she told me, her voice scratchy and dry. "I don't expect her back anytime soon. Her father will probably have his way with her after what she did to him." I frowned at her.

I thought back to when she came back after her 4 days of absence. _"Could she have been abused by her mother or father?"_ I wondered.

"Do you know where she could have gone?" I asked, getting impatient with the woman.

"Why would I care where she is? I wouldn't care if she never came back. She's probably out in that park somewhere." I ignored everything else she said and left, heading back to my house.

I went up to my room and grabbed my cell phone, shoving it into my pocket. Temari didn't like me leaving the house without it and I didn't feel like dealing with her later on. I was also a little worried that something was going to go terribly wrong. I'm not sure why I cared, but I did. Maybe it was the fact that it had to do with Kairi.

"I'm going to the park!" I hollered as I ran out the front door.

**XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO**

_**Kairi's POV**_

I was sitting on a bench near a small creak that ran through the park. The sound of the flowing water hid the sound of my sniffling.

Everything was ripping at the seams. My mother hates me, Gaara hates me, and my father hates me. Worst of all, he was out of jail and was free to get his revenge.

I wiped the tears from my face and let out a deep breath.

"I don't care anymore," I whispered.

"I'm glad that you don't," a gravely voice said from behind me. I didn't even need to turn around to see who it was. I already knew. "I told you that I would kill you once I was free." I just nodded and closed my eyes.

"Just do it," I whispered. "No one will care anyways."

Moments later, a gun shot rang out through the air. I felt a pain in my chest, but I stayed silent. I let my body fall to the ground and I laid there unmoving. If I was going to die, I was going to die with some dignity. I wasn't going to cry and fight for something that wasn't worth it.

I listened as I heard my father's footsteps fade away as he ran away from the sight.

**XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO**

_**Gaara's POV**_

I stood behind a tree, watching silently from the distance. I watched as a man came up and stood beside Kairi. He said something to her, but I wasn't close enough to make it out. My eyes widened and my heart started racing as I watched him pull out a gun.

"_Why isn't she moving?" _I asked myself, fear rushing over me. _"Why isn't she doing anything?" _

I was brought back to my senses by the sound of a gun firing. My body went tense and I watched in horror as Kairi fell to the ground and the man fled from the scene.

I wanted to rush to her side, but I knew that would be stupid of me. I waited for a few moments, until I knew the man was gone. I took out my cell phone and called for an ambulance. Despite them telling me to stay on the line, I hung up and put the phone back into my pocket. I ran over to where Kairi was laying.

I knelt down beside her, my body starting to tremble at the sight of her. Her grey shirt was now stained with red. The grass was drenched with her blood.

I turned her over and put my hand over her wound, trying to stop the bleeding the best that I could.

"Kairi," I said, my voice shaking slightly. "Kairi, I'm so sorry." I watched as she slowly opened her eyes. She looked up at me with her tear-filled blue eyes. "Hang in there Kairi, the ambulance is on its way." I jumped slightly when I felt her lay a hand on top of mine.

"I…… s-still….. l-love you," she stuttered weakly. I could feel my heart grow heavy and start to ache. It was like when I watched my uncle die right in front of my eyes. The difference was that my uncle betrayed me and hated me. Kairi never really did anything to betray me, and she still loves me.

I took her hand in my free one, giving it a gentle squeeze.

"I…. I think I do too," I whispered, squeezing her hand a little tighter. She gave me a weak smile and started closing her eyes. "Kairi, keep your eyes open! You can't leave now!"

Just then, 2 medics and 2 police officers came running over with a stretcher. One of the police men gently took me by the arm, getting me to stand up. He slowly led me away from Kairi. I still watched as the 3 others loaded her onto the stretcher and take her towards the ambulance.

The police man had me answer several questions. Did I know the victim? Did I see her get shot? If yes, do you know the person who fired the gun? How many people were at the scene at the time? Could I give a description of the person who shot her? Would I be able to identify the shooter if he were in a lineup?

I was frustrated about having to answer all these questions. The only reason I agreed to answer them was because I wanted them to find the person who did this to Kairi. I wasn't going to let the man who did this to her just get away with what he did. Especially not after I just told her that I loved her.

After the police were done questioning me, they left and I started walking back home. I took out my cell phone and called Temari.

"Hello?" Temari said, answering the phone.

"Temari," I said sadly, "Can you and come pick me up. I need a ride to the hospital?"

"Oh my gosh! Are you okay?! Where are you?"

"I'm okay Temari. It's Kairi. I'm at the park entrance."

"I'll be there in 5 minutes or less."

I thanked her and hung up. The only thing on my mind at the moment was Kairi.

* * *

**_Mwahahaha. I haven't left a cliff hanger in a while, so I thought that it was about time. By the way, I thought I should probably mention this. Gaara and Kairi are like 15. Kankurou and Lee are 17 and are seniors in highschool. Temari is 19 and is a freshman in college. _**

**_Plz review. you know that you want to. now, i have to go and ponder about a title for my next story. c ya!_**

**_Oh! And I must thank my reviewers, demona013 and Dragon of Twilight! Luv you guys! Woot!_**


	5. Chapter 5

**CHAPTER **

_**Gaara's POV**_

Temari walked with me to the receptionist desk and talked to the nurse for me.

"A young girl should have come here not too long ago," my sister told her. "Her name is Kairi. She had been shot." The nurse smiled and typed something up on the computer. She looked up at Temari, not smiling or frowning.

"Yes, she was admitted about 20 minutes ago," she said. "From what I know, she is still in critical condition. If you go to the 5th floor, the people up there should be able to give you more information." Temari thanked her and headed towards the elevator, with me following close behind.

We rode the elevator to the 5th floor. While I sat down in the waiting room, Temari talked to the receptionist once more.

After a few minutes she slowly walked towards me, sadness in her eyes. She sat down next to me and sighed, putting a gentle hand on my shoulder. She kind of had me worried with the way she was acting.

"They're removing the bullet right now," Temari told me softly. "They also had to give her a blood transfusion. The doctor will come out to speak with us once he's finished." I nodded and looked down at my feet. Temari put an arm around me, pulling me in close to her. I laid my head on her shoulder and she ran her fingers through my hair.

After about an hour of waiting in total silence, a doctor came over to us.

"You're here for Kairi, right?" he asked. Temari smiled and nodded. I pulled away from Temari and the two of us stood up. We slowly walked with the doctor down one of the hallways

"She's a very lucky girl," he told us as we walked. "The bullet missed all of her vital organs and any main veins. The most that happened was excessive blood loss. We have her started on a transfusion right now, so she should be fine very soon."

"When will she be released?" Temari asked.

"Are you here in place of her parent or guardian?" Temari nodded. "Her parent or guardian can pick her up tomorrow….."

"Her mom isn't going to pick her up," I interrupted. The doctor looked down at me questioningly. I sighed, but continued my explanation. "When I went to Kairi's house to see if she was home, her mom was completely wasted. She said how she hoped that she never came back home. Her father isn't going to come either, since he was probably the one who did this to her in the first place."

"Then, we'll have to hand her over to social….."

"I am not letting that poor girl get handed over to social services. That is out of the question! Isn't there anything we can do help?"

"Did you report all of this to the police?" He seemed to be asking me this. I nodded. "I have a friend that works for social services. Why don't you come with me and we can give her a call. If anyone could pull some strings, it would be Nani." Temari smiled and nodded.

"That would be great!" The doctor looked down at me and smiled.

"Would you like to visit your friend while your sister and I make a quick phone call?" I nodded. He looked down at his clipboard, skimming the paper with his eyes. "She has been moved into room 13. That will be down the hall and to the right." I thanked him and continued walking down the hall.

I lightly tapped on the door and went inside. I didn't really need to knock first, but it was a bit of a habit. I don't like entering any room without knocking first. I did that once and it ended very badly.

I slowly walked over to Kairi's bed, pulling a seat over so I could sit down. I stared at her for awhile, the pain in my chest hurting more and more as each second past. She looked so pale and lifeless. If it weren't for the beeping of her pulse on the machine, I would have thought that she was dead. It didn't even look like she was breathing.

I slowly reached out and held her hand in mine. It wasn't warm like it should be, but it wasn't stone cold either. I cupped her cheek in my hand, caressing it gently with my thumb. After doing that for awhile, I started running my fingers through her long black hair. I wasn't even thinking about what I was doing. Even when I realized what I was doing, I didn't stop. For some odd reason, it felt right and I didn't really want to stop.

After about 20 minutes, Temari and the doctor came in. Temari came over and put a hand on my shoulder. I looked up at her and she was smiling.

"Gaara, we have to leave Kairi here for now," she told me softly, gently squeezing my shoulder. "We'll come back to pick her up tomorrow.." I nodded and stood up. I took one last look at Kairi before walking out the door with my older sister.

**XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO**

_**Kairi's POV**_

Everything was dark. Why was everything dark? I wanted to open my eyes so that I could see what was going on around me, but I couldn't. I could hear the beeping and buzzing of machines nearby. After awhile, I felt something touch my hand. I wanted to see what it was, but I was lost in the dark. After awhile, I felt something brushing gently against my cheek. It kind of tickled. Then I felt something playing with my hair. I wanted to know what, or who was touching me.

After what seemed like forever, I heard voices. It was a female's voice.

_"Gaara, we have to leave Kairi here for now. We'll come back to pick her up tomorrow."_

It was Gaara. Had he really come to see me? Did he really care about me after all? I wanted to see his face again. I wanted to hear his voice one more time. Most of all, I wanted us to be friends again.

**XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO**

_**Gaara's POV**_

After breakfast the next morning, Temari and I went back up to the hospital. Kankurou stayed home to make up the guest bed for when we got back with Kairi.

When we got to the hospital, Temari made me wait in the car. I pissed about that, but I listened anyway. After everything Temari was doing and all the trouble she had to go through, the least I could do was listen to her. At least that's what she told me.

After about 10 minutes, Temari and some nurse wheeled Kairi out to the car. I got out and helped the nurse get her into the back seat. Kairi was still asleep, so it was a little difficult, but we eventually got her in. I put her seat belt on for her and got into the back seat on the other side. I didn't have to, but with her still unconscious. I wanted to make sure that she didn't get hurt any more than she already was, especially with Temari's driving.

Temari held the door open for me as I carried Kairi through the front door. Kankurou came over and took her from me, which I was very grateful of. She was kind of heavy. I thanked him and followed him up the stairs into the guest room. I went in ahead of him and peeled back the covers. Kankurou carefully laid her down on the bed and pulled the covers up to her chin. He gave me an uneasy smile and quickly left the room.

I pulled a chair over to the side of her bed and sat down. I sat there until my sister called me down for lunch. Once I finished eating, I ran back upstairs. I got my sketchpad from my room and went back to watching over Kairi.

I sat in the wooden chair with the sketchpad in my lap, drawing. I looked up every now and then, only to see her take in a deep breath or move slightly.

I left again for dinner and came back to find that she hadn't moved. I watched over her a few more hours, finding myself having trouble staying awake. I guess eventually fell asleep in that chair. I don't know what time I actually blacked out, but I know that it wasn't that late at night. My siblings hadn't even gone to sleep yet.

**XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO**

_**Kairi's POV**_

I slowly opened my eyes, and tried to move. I grimaced in pain as my upper torso started to ache. I let my eyes focus for a couple of minutes as I thought of where I could be. I was pretty sure that I wasn't dead. I knew that I wasn't at my house or at a hospital. The room was still kind of dark, but I could tell that I wasn't in any of those places.

I slowly rolled my head over to the side smiling when I saw Gaara asleep in a chair beside my bed.

_"He does care about me,"_ I thought to myself. I wanted to say something to him, but I didn't want to disturb him. He looked so cute, sitting there with his head drooping forward. I felt bad about how exhausted he must have been. I just hope that I wasn't the cause of it.

I laid there, watching him for a couple hours. Soon, the room started filling up with light as the sun rose higher and higher into the sky, signaling the start of a new day.

Temari walked into the room and looked at me with quizzical eyes. I smiled and nodded at Gaara. She looked down at her baby brother and put and hand to her mouth, stifling a giggle. She silently walked over to his chair and knelt down in front of him.

"Good morning sleepy head," she cooed, ruffling his red hair. I couldn't help but giggle.

Gaara groaned and slowly opened his eyes. He lifted his head up and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes.

"You don't look so good," she told him, frowning. "You're sleeping in your bed tonight, understand?" Gaara slowly nodded. He then looked past Temari and over at me. I blinked at him and smiled. Temari looked over at me, then back at Gaara.

"I want you downstairs for breakfast in 10 minutes," she told him, getting up and leaving us alone.

Gaara got up and took a seat on the edge of the bed. I rolled my head back to where it was before so that I could look at him better.

Without a word, Gaara peeled back my covers. I watched as lifted up the bottom of my shirt, exposing the bandages used to cover my wound. He gently touched it with his finger tips and looked up at me.

"Does it hurt?" he asked. I smiled. _He actually asked a question!_

"A little bit," I told him hoarsely. "You were at the hospital the other day, weren't you?" Gaara nodded.

"How did you know?"

"You were touching me. I felt it. I didn't know it was you until Temari came in and called you by your name." Gaara smirked and nodded. "What's going to happen with me?" I asked. Gaara frowned and shook his head with uncertainty.

"I'm not sure," he answered softly. "Temari is taking care of it. I can ask her if you want me to." I nodded.

"Speaking of Temari, you should probably head downstairs for breakfast," I told him, smirking. "You don't want to get Temari mad." Gaara smirked and nodded.

"Want me to bring you up something?" he asked as he got to his feet.

"A glass of water, if it's not too much trouble." Gaara nodded and left the room.

I smiled and closed my eyes.

**XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO**

_**Gaara's POV**_

"What's going to happen to Kairi?" I asked Temari. I ate a spoonful of cereal and looked up at her.

"Nani is getting some paper work filled out," she told me, sitting down across the table from me. "I'm going to be meeting with her this afternoon and we're going over to Kairi's mother's house. We're going to get her to sign some forms, and we will be fostering her until someone comes to adopt her."

"What will happen when someone comes to adopt her?" I asked. "Will she move far away or something?"

"Not necessarily. I told her that we wanted to keep Kairi close by if that was possible. She told me that she can try and work something out." I nodded. I was all for fostering her and what not, but I didn't want her to leave. It would almost be like she was dead.

When I finished eating, I filled a clean glass with water and headed back upstairs. I went into Kairi's room and sat down on the edge of her bed. She opened her eyes and looked up at me.

"I brought you some water," I told her softly. She smiled at me and nodded. She grimaced in pain as she tried to sit up on her own, so I put a hand behind her back and helped her sit up. She thanked me as I gave her the water. I put my hand beneath the glass as she brought it to her lips.

When she was finished, I took the glass from her and helped her lay back down.

"You should get some rest," I told her, getting up.

"You should too sleepy-head," she replied, giggling. I smirked at her and nodded.

"I'll come check on you in a little bit, okay?" She nodded and closed her eyes. I slowly made my way out of the room and shut the door behind me part of the way.

I smiled to myself as I took the glass back downstairs. I was content with everything that was going on. Kairi was going to be okay, we're friends again, and I've gotten a little closer to my sister. For once, I wasn't miserable with life.

**XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO**

_**Kairi's POV**_

_"We're friends again!" _my mind screamed as I fell asleep. I glad that Gaara forgave me. I can't wait until my body heals and the two of us can hang out again.

**XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO**

**_Hope you all enjoyed! Thanks for reading and HAPPY NEW YEAR! WOOT WOOT! I can't believe this will be my last post for the year 2007! It almost makes me sad._**


	6. Chapter 6

**CHAPTER 6**

_**The Next Day**_

_**Kairi's POV**_

The social services woman came over today and visited with me. She asked me a bunch of questions about the living conditions with my mother. That wasn't hard to describe.

I did all the cooking, cleaning, and all the other chores around the house. My mother hardly ever had the money to pay the rent or any of the other bills we needed to pay. She was hardly ever home. When I did see her around the house, she was either asleep or drunk. She blames me for sending my father to jail. My father wants to kill me and almost succeeded. My mother doesn't even want me. She calls me a horrible mistake and wishes that I would just disappear. Is that enough, or should I continue?

The woman also had me sign some papers, which I gladly did. She told me a few more things about how Temari was going to foster me. The last thing she said before leaving was that she and Temari were going over to my house to get some of my things tomorrow.

As she left, Gaara came in. I frowned at him as he sat down on the edge of my bed.

"I'm guessing you heard all of that," I sighed. He nodded.

"Most of it," he answered, his face emotionless. "How did you send your father to jail?" I sighed and shook my head.

"He abused my mother and me." Gaara looked down at me with a hint of sadness in his eyes. I scoffed at him. "I don't need your sympathy for something like this, so save it. Besides, I'm not the only one with the dark past." Gaara looked away from me, as if he were ashamed of it.

"It's quite similar to yours," he said softly.

"Care to explain?" I asked. He sighed and closed his eyes.

He was right when he said that it was pretty similar to mine. Some parts of it anyway. Gaara never had a mother, since she died giving birth to him. He was raised by his abusive father and his uncle. His uncle filled his life with lies. He thought that his uncle loved him, but he really hated Gaara. Apparently, he blamed him for killing his sister, the woman who gave birth to him. One night his uncle tried to kill Gaara, but Gaara ended up killing him out of self defense.

After that incident, he became more distant from his siblings and his father started abusing him even more. He became an insomniac for the fear of being killed by his father while he slept.

The kanji sign on his forehead, which read love, was also put there by his father. When Gaara told me how his father branded that mark on his head, his body started shaking a little bit. He was abused even worse than I was.

When Temari turned 18, which was about a year ago, she took both Gaara and Kankurou and moved out of their father's place. They moved to a small apartment somewhere until they got all the legal papers thought out. Once all that was sorted out, they moved closer to where Temari went to college. That is what brings them here. But sadly, his father was still out there somewhere.

When Gaara finished telling his story, the whole room seemed to be filled with gloominess. Gaara was looking down at the ground, sadness and pain still in his eyes. I felt so bad for him. I knew that he wouldn't have wanted me to feel bad, especially since I wouldn't let him do that for me. I couldn't help it though. It's something that a lot of females are cursed with.

I put a gentle hand on his back to make him feel a little better. He jumped beneath my touch, but quickly relaxed. He looked up at me and I smiled sweetly. He sighed and his face went back to being emotionless

"At least it's all over now," I told him. He nodded and took my hand in his.

"It's our struggles that make us stronger," he told me. I nodded in agreement. I have always believed that and it always seemed to be true.

"You and Temari seem to get along a lot better now," I told him. He nodded.

"She's definitely a mother figure. She matured a lot faster than most people do," Gaara told me softly.

"You're telling me. If taking on two teenaged boys at the age of 18 isn't showing maturity, then I don't know what maturity is." Gaara smirked and I couldn't help but giggle

"Are you hungry?" he asked, "You haven't eaten anything ever since we brought you here." I shook my head.

"I'm really not hungry. I think the pain killers that I've been taking are decreasing my appetite. I'll try eating something later." He nodded and stood up.

"I'm going to go see what's going on downstairs."

"Have fun." He smirked and left, leaving the door open.

**XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO**

_**Gaara's POV**_

By the time I went back downstairs, the social services woman.

"So what were you two talking about?" Kankurou asked as I took a seat on the couch.

"About my past," I sighed, looking at my brother blankly.

"Everything?" he asked, sounding a bit surprised. I could understand that. I haven't shared my past with anyone before, except for a councilor. I didn't even tell the councilor everything.

"Just about." He whistled, shaking his head. "I found out about her too. We're pretty similar."

"I kind of guessed that, especially after she came to our home from being shot by her father."

"Don't you have woodshop tonight?" I asked, changing the subject. He shook his head.

"It got canceled. We're all getting together on Wednesday instead. Why do you ask?" I shrugged.

"Just trying to find a way to get you out of the house." He smirked at me and playfully punched me in the arm.

"You would be trying to get rid of me."

**oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo**

Later on that night, I brought Kairi up some chicken noodle soup that Temari had made for her. Luckily, she was awake.

"Temari wants you to try and eat this," I told her, setting the hot soup down on the bed side table. "And don't worry. Soup from a can is something Temari can actually make without burning it." She smirked and nodded. I helped her sit up and handed her the soup. I watched her as she slowly ate the soup.

"You know you don't have to stay if you don't want to," she told me.

"I know," I assured her. "I want to stay here. It's not like I have anything better to do anyway." She smiled and continued eating.

She ate about half of the bowl before handing it back to me.

"I don't think I can eat anymore." I got up and headed for the door. "Thank Temari for me please." I looked back over at her and nodded.

I headed back downstairs and put the bowl on the counter.

"Did she eat any of it?" Temari asked from behind me.

"About half of the bowl," I answered. "She says thank you." I turned around to see Temari smiling.

"Get ready for bed," she told me. "You have school tomorrow, remember?" I sighed and nodded. With everything that has happened this weekend, I really didn't remember. Not only that, but I had a biology test tomorrow. I sure wasn't looking forward to that. Since Kairi and I had been avoiding each other, we didn't study together anymore. I was certain that I was going to fail.

**XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO**

_**The Next Weekend**_

_**Kairi's POV**_

I was finally able to around without any pain! I could sit up on my own and would finally be allowed to go to school. I was happy about that, since I was way behind in my school work now.

I could walk for short distances, but Gaara carried me most of places. I really hated being a burden, but he didn't seem to mind.

On Saturday, I watched him as he played one of his video games. It was kind of violent, but it didn't really bother me that much.

"Do you play?" he asked me randomly. His eyes were still glued to the screen, but mine were too, so it didn't matter.

"Do I play video games?" He nodded. "Not much, but I play every now and then. I usually stop playing once I've beaten the game."

"Which games?" I shrugged.

"MOH, Final Fantasy, SOCOM Navy SEALs, Ghost Recon, COD, stuff like that." He paused the game and looked at me.

"Aren't most of those war games?" he asked me. I smiled and nodded. "I thought most girls hated stuff like that."

"It's not just shooting people. It takes skill and strategy for some of those. At least SOCOM does."

"Alright, you have to show me this 'SOCOM' game." I grinned and nodded.

"I'll get it when I go to get the rest of my stuff next weekend. By the way, will you help me carry over my things when I go?" Gaara nodded and went back to playing his game.

**XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO**

_**The Next Day (Sunday)**_

_**Gaara's POV**_

I sat and watched as Kairi drew a picture of Temari and Kankurou. I never realized how good she was. Not only that, but she could use different mediums.

We also went through some of my sketches. I made sure to take out all the ones I had of her before letting her look at them. It would have been pretty embarrassing if I had to explain why I drew all those pictures of her.

Her favorite sketch was one that I drew about a year ago. It was of a dragon that was in the middle of a dessert. Apparently, she loves dragons. I'll have to remember that when it's her birthday.

I also let Kairi take a look at all of my notes that I have taken while she was out. I helped explain some of the algebra stuff and English things, but she seemed to pick up on the biology easily. I wouldn't have been much help on that subject anyway.

"What are you going to be when you grow up?" I asked her. She thought for a moment and shrugged.

"I'm not really sure," she replied. "I guess I would like to become an art teacher. What about you?" I shrugged as well.

"I really have no idea," I told her. "I'm just kind of letting everything fall into place for me." She nodded and smiled.

"Sometimes, that's all you can do."

**XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO**

**SQUEE! HAPPY NEW YEAR! Don't stop now! There's still another chapter! Keep going! SQUEE!**


	7. Chapter 7

**CHAPTER 7**

**The Next Weekend**

_**Kairi's POV**_

Gaara, Temari, and Kankurou helped me bring the rest of my things over from my mothers home. We had the job finished within an hour or two, which was good with me. The less time I spent in that house, the better.

Once everything was brought over, I spent another hour finding a place to put everything. I didn't have much stuff, but I take my time when I do stuff like that. I wanted to make it look nice and organized. I also fiddled around too. I was listening to _My Chemical Romance_ and was dancing around the room while I was putting everything away.

The last thing I had to put away was my most prized possession, or possessions. My older cousin, Ryo, gave them to me when I turned 12. He also taught me how to use them. Ryo died a little over a year ago in a car crash, so that makes them even more special. They are pretty much the only thing I have to remember him by.

I smirked to myself and slowly unzipped the long, black case. I took out the belt, which had a set of twin katanas attached to it, and put it around my waist. I slowly unsheathed the two katanas and held them up to the light. I loved the feeling that I had when I held those swords in my hands. It felt as if Ryo was still with me.

"Are those real?" I jerked my head to where the voice came from and smiled when I saw Gaara standing in the doorway. I nodded and dropped my hands down at my sides, the katanas pointing towards the ground. Gaara took a couple of steps forward, his eyes still on the swords.

"Do you know how to use them?" he asked. I smirked, twirling the two swords in my hands. With one swift motion, I swung one of the katanas at him, as if I were going to slice off his head. I stopped about an inch from his neck and rested the flat of the blade on his shoulder.

Gaara was completely still. His eyes were wide with fear and all the color had disappeared from his face.

"I guess you could say I know a thing or two," I told him, still smirking at him. I slowly removed the sword from his shoulder and sheathed both of the blades.

Gaara still stood there, frozen in place. I gave him a concerned look.

"Are you okay Gaara?" I asked, putting my hand on his shoulder. Gaara blinked a few times and slowly nodded. "Sorry about scaring you." I apologized, giggling a little bit. He sighed and shook his head.

"Just don't do it again," he grumbled.

"Well, you did ask."

"You didn't have demonstrate by acting as if you were going to slice my head off." I smiled and apologized again.

"You should know that I would never do anything like that to you."

"Where did you get those anyway?"

"My cousin Ryo gave them to me about 3 years ago, for my 12th birthday."

"He gave a twelve-year-old a set of deadly weapons?" he asked, raising a skin eyebrow. I grinned and nodded.

"I wasn't a stupid kid, and he knew that. He knew that I would use them responsibly." Gaara nodded.

An uncomfortable silence fell around us. I kind of knew that Gaara wasn't going to end it, so I decided that I was going to have to do something.

I drew one of the katanas again, which made Gaara take a couple of steps backwards. I laughed and shook my head at him.

"You can't tell me that you're scared of me now." Gaara frowned and shook his head. "Come here," I told him waving for him to come closer.

"You're not going to try taking another slice at me, are you?" he asked cautiously. I smirked and shook my head.

"No, I'm not going to try and take off your head," I told him, still giggling. He didn't seem to trust me, since he didn't move from where he was. I sighed and shook my head at him. "I thought that I would be nice and teach you a basic move." Gaara stared at me suspiciously, but slowly approached me. I smiled and carefully handed him the katana. The mixture of awe and fear in his eyes was priceless.

I repositioned his grip on the handle and got behind him. I had to get kind of close in order for me to help him make the right hand movements. I could tell that Gaara was a bit uncomfortable about how close we were, but I figured that he could get over it.

I took his arm and had him raise it to his eye level and slightly to the left. Then I slowly brought his arm down, slanting slightly to the right. _(Kind of like a diagonal movement)_ I repeated this motion with him a couple more times, just like Ryo had done with me.

"Now try it on your own," I told him, letting go of his arm and stepping back. Gaara easily performed the move on his own. "Now do it a bit faster. It should just be one, swift motion." Gaara nodded and tried it. It took him a couple of times to do it faster while getting the motion correct. Even then, it wasn't completely correct, but it was close enough. It takes practice, even for a simple move like that.

"Good job," I complimented, patting him on the shoulder. "Now all that's left for you to do is to move the rest of your body and make the motion a bit wider. There isn't enough room in here to that, so we can't really do that." Just then, Kankurou just barged into the room.

"Gaara, where is the……." He stopped when he saw the katana in Gaara's hand. He frowned and sighed. "I thought the day would never come that I found Gaara with some kind of deadly weapon in his hands." He shook his head in disappointment and left the room.

Gaara and I stared at each other in confusion before I burst out laughing. Gaara just smirked, also amused at what just happened. He handed the katana back to me and I put it back into its sheath. I took the belt off and put the swords back into their case. I put the case safely under my bed, and then plopped down on top of my bed. Gaara walked over and sat down beside me.

"Your brother is weird," I giggled.

"You don't know the half of it," he sighed. I laughed again laid back, looking up at the white ceiling.

"Do….. you think I'm strange?" Gaara asked randomly. I sat back up and gave him a strange look.

"What are you talking about?" I asked, a little lost at what he meant. Gaara looked down at the ground as if he were ashamed of himself.

"Before I came to this school, all the kids called me a freak. I had….. emotional problems back then, and was known to lash out. They called me a monster." I could tell that it really bothered him.

"I kind of did that too," I told him, trying to make him feel better. Back in grade school, I really did. I had a really bad temper towards the other boys back then. They used to always try and exclude me from the games at recess, just because I was a girl. It's not like they weren't asking for it. I hated it when they teased me for being a girl, and I let them know. "Only, instead of calling me 'monster', they called me 'crazy bitch'." Gaara looked up at me and smirked.

"Just answer the question." I sighed and smiled at him.

"Yes Gaara, I think you are weird." I told him. He looked at me, a hint of shock in his eyes. "And that is exactly why I like you. It's what makes you... you. I swear, if you ever try to change because someone calls you a few names, I will kick their ass and yours." Gaara blinked a couple times before smirking at me again. I grinned and chuckled.

"You are a great person Gaara," I continued, "And don't let anyone tell you otherwise."

**XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO**

_**Gaara's POV**_

I really don't know how to describe the feelings I have for Kairi. Whenever I'm around her, I feel completely different. I used to feel horrible. I kind of felt like I had a storm cloud following me everywhere. It was kind of depressing. Now that I have Kairi around, that all changes. I feel as if a huge weight has been lifted.

Kairi spent a little over 6 months with us, and I was content. I guess one could say I was happy.

It was during spring break that we received big news. Apparently, there was a family that was interested in adopting Kairi.

When I was told the news, I didn't really know what to feel. I felt kind of sad, but Kairi seemed so happy to hear about it. I didn't want to take that away from her. I would just have to deal with it.

**Saturday**

We are supposed to meet the family today. Kairi is so excited and happy that she has actually lifted the mood of the house. Everyone seems kind of bummed about the fact that she might be leaving us. In the back of our minds, we're all hoping that she doesn't move too far away. Kairi, however, isn't giving us a chance to show our worry. She has been so hyper and running through the house. It was like she was hopped up on sugar or something.

The family arrived with the social services woman around noon. Everyone seemed completely surprised about the family.

There were 2 people in the family. There was a woman who seemed to be in her late 20s, early 30s. She had curly brown hair that went down to her shoulders and deep brown eyes. With her was a boy about me and Kairi's age. He had wild, blonde hair and expressive, deep blue eyes. He also had weird markings on his cheeks. They almost looked like cuts.

The woman's name was Rina Sanji. The boy's name, who apparently was her adopted son, was Naruto Uzumaki.

After a brief introduction, we were told take Naruto and go do something together. We ended up going outside into the backyard.

Our backyard was small, and had a big maple tree in the middle. Kairi loved to come back here and climb up it, hanging upside down from its branches. That's basically what she did when the three of us went back there. She sat up on one of the lower branches while Naruto and I leaned against the tree, silently looking up at her.

"So where do you and Rina live Naruto?" Kairi asked, kicking her legs underneath her. Naruto grinned.

"Actually, we're moving to a neighborhood really close by," he told us. "We should be officially moved in by next week."

"That's kind of how Gaara and I met," Kairi giggled. I smirked and nodded. She was basically the first person I met when I first moved here as well.

"What's Rina like?" she asked. Naruto chuckled.

"She's great. She's really nice and loves sculpting."

"Then we should get along great! I'm a painter!" Naruto frowned.

"I'm not much of the artistic type," he grumbled. Kairi laughed and I smirked. Naruto's face instantly brightened up.

"So what's Kairi like Gaara?" he asked me. Kairi glared at me, as if daring me to say something bad about her. I smirked at her, taunting her to try and do something.

"She's weird," I answered teasingly, "Just be careful when you wake her up for school in the mornings. She has been known to try and bite people's heads off." Just then, I felt something small hit me on the head. I looked up at Kairi and frowned.

"What did you just throw at me?" I asked, glaring at her.

"My vengeance," she replied, smiling evilly. I shook my head in disappointment, only to be hit in the head again.

"You had better tell me what you're throwing at me before I shake you out of that tree." She just grinned and stuck out her tongue.

"I think it was a peanut," Naruto snickered. "I wonder where she…. Ow!" Naruto put a hand to his head after being hit with what ever Kairi was throwing at us.

"Not just an ordinary peanut," Kairi corrected. "They are peanuts filled with my wrath." Naruto and I gave her a weird look as she laughed evilly.

"Did you have coffee this morning?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Maaaaaaybe," she replied, giggling afterwards. I sighed and smacked myself in the forehead.

"No wonder you're acting so crazy," I sighed. Naruto started laughing. Just then, Kairi started pelting us with peanuts. I had no idea where she had gotten them. Naruto and I headed inside. Kairi could be pretty dangerous when she was on a sugar rush. I would have to remember to warn Naruto about that as well. Or I could just be evil and let Naruto find out for himself.

**ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo**

After Kairi had settled down and our guests left, Kairi and I hung out in her room and listened to one of her CDs. I think it was called 'My Chemical Romance' or something like that. She apparently loves that band. I guess their alright. It's a lot better than the stuff Temari and Kankurou listen to. Compared to their music, it was golden.

We listened to about two songs from that CD, then she got bored and put in her 'Breaking Benjamin' CD. It had a bit of a darker, smoother sound. I usually prefer the heavier stuff, but I actually liked it. I couldn't really tell you why though. It was just easier to take in than the stuff she played before, even though I liked it too.

The two of us laid on her floor, looking up at the ceiling.

"What did you think about Naruto?" she asked me. I rolled my head to the side so that I could look at her.

"He seemed alright," I replied. I still wasn't happy about the fact that she would be leaving. I was feeling a lot better than before though. She would still be going to the same school, and she would only be 3 blocks away. I thought it was a pretty fair deal. Kairi was going to be with people she could call family, and I still got to keep my friend.

"I hope you guys won't mind me coming over unannounced." I smirked and shook my head.

"You're welcome anytime." She grinned and laughed.

"Good, because I was going to, whether you guys wanted me here or not."

**

* * *

**_**Two chapters in one day! Yay me! I did this for two reasons. **_

**_1. It's the New Year!  
2. This is the main reason. I woke up this morning and checked my email. I was so happy to find a bunch of reviews. Then I said to myself, "I have 3 downloads left to post. I think I'll post one of them to be nice because I'm so happy about all the reviews I got." So there you have it. _**

**_Thanks to all my reviewers from chapter 5._**

_**Dragon of Twilight - **it would be weird, and scary. Wait until next chapter. You'll never see what's coming next. Mwaahahaha! _

**Kita Kudai - **So it wasn't Akatsuki or Orochimaru who adopted her. I had already written this several days ago. Plus, I thought Naruto would be fun to have in the story. It would have been funny though, to have an Akatsuki member adopt her. I never really thought of it. 

_**Vampire Lover1980 - **thanks! i feel so loved. _

_**Sarimia - **i hope that today isn't all sevens. that would be really weird._

_**Uchiha Kinakae -** I'm glad that you luv the story. i hope that this was soon enough for you._

_**demona013 - **i left a cliff hanger in chapter four. these two aren't cliffhangers, so maybe I'll leave one again soon. i love being the evil person i am. lol._

**_Thank you all so very much. The last two chapters are for you. Hope you all enjoyed! Please continue to review. When you do, it makes me so happy and I can't help but post more. Who knows, maybe if I get a bunch of reviews before the day ends, I'll post up a third chapter. Now wouldn't that be something? REVIEW!_**


	8. Chapter 8

**CHAPTER 8**

**Summer Break**

_**Gaara's POV**_

Kairi moved in with Naruto and Rina over a month ago. Like Kairi said, she came and visited. We were like her second home. It was almost like she hadn't moved out. Naruto started hanging out with us as well.

We found out that Kairi did martial arts. I kind of figured that, especially after I saw her with those katana that one time. Anyway, she invited us all to her match at the dojo. I was really impressed when I saw her. She totally kicked her opponent's ass. I definitely didn't want to get her pissed off anytime soon.

At the end of her match, she did a demonstration with her sensei. She was using a style called jujitsu, which is mostly a defensive style. Her sensei was using these light weight wooden sticks against her. Apparently, he didn't want to risk anybody getting seriously injured if Kairi weren't able to block. Kairi ended up using his own weapon against him before pinning him to the ground. The look on her sensei's face was priceless. He had know idea how stong she really was.

**ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo**

I was just coming home from the library. The house was silent, which was expected. Temari was out on a date and Kankurou was out with some friends, trying to pick up girls or something else perverted.

I put my book down on the coffee table and headed towards the kitchen. I flipped on the kitchen light and stood there in shock when I saw who was waiting for me.

"F-f-father," I stammered, looking into his hateful eyes. An evil smirk slowly spread across his face. He stalked up to me and shoved me hard, making me fall to the ground.

I could feel my body start to tremble as memories of my childhood came flooding into my mind. I was brought back to reality by a kick to my stomach.

"Get up you worthless piece of shit!" he spat. He grabbed me by my shirt and jerked me to my feet. He followed that up by punching me hard in the face. I stumbled backwards, out of the kitchen, but managed to stay on my feet. By the time I looked up, he was already in front of me. He socked me in the face again, making me stumble back a bit more. I then found myself backed up against the wall and receiving more hits to the face and stomach.

After receiving a brutal beating, he pinned me to the wall, grabbing me by the throat. I struggled beneath his grip, but that only made him tighten it. He was choking the life out of me. Slowly, my fight was leaving me until I couldn't fight back anymore.

**XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO**

_**Kairi's POV**_

I walked over to Gaara's house, like I did whenever I went to visit him. Rina was at some convention thing and wouldn't be back until morning. Naruto was gone too, leaving me alone and bored.

When I got to Gaara's house, I was disappointed to find that all the lights in the house were out. I decided to let myself in anyway, and wait until someone got home. I knew where they kept the spare key, and Temari told me I could use it whenever I needed a place to stay.

I was surprised to find that I didn't need the key. The door was actually unlocked. I was even more surprised to hear the sound of a stranger's voice. I slipped my flip-flops off and silently made my way towards where the voice was coming from.

My eyes widened in horror when I saw a man pinning Gaara to the wall, choking him. I couldn't see much of Gaara, but I saw enough to know that this man wasn't welcomed here.

I crept up behind him and made my move. I hit him hard in the back of the head, exactly where sensei and Lee had taught me. It took another it before he was completely knocked out. Gaara fell to the floor, his father landing next to him. Gaara sat there, gasping for air and staring at the man in horror. I could barely make out the blood trickling down his chain.

It didn't take long for Gaara to catch his breath. His attention immediately went to the unconscious intruder. His body shook furiously as he gawked at the man. I rushed over knelt beside him.

"We need to get out of here Gaara," I told him, taking him by the arm. I tried to get him to his feet, but he wouldn't budge.

I took another look at the man, then looked back at Gaara. It took a moment, but I finally wrapped my mind around what was going on. That man was Gaara's father.

I grabbed Gaara beneath his arms and pulled him to his feet. As I did, he went unconscious.

"Shit!" I cursed to myself as I did my best not to totally drop him. I dragged him outside to the front yard. I took out my cell phone and dialed 9-1-1, telling them that there was an intruder knocked out at _(insert street address here)_. Then I called Lee.

"Hello?"

"Lee! I know this is so sudden, but I really need your help!" I told him, sounding a little panicky.

"Kairi, is everything alright? Where are you?"

"I'm fine Lee. I'm with Gaara. Can you give us a ride to my place? Gaara's out cold and somebody broke into his house. The cops are on their way, Rina and Naruto aren't at home, and I am freaking out here!" I don't know why, but I actually started crying. I guess I really was freaking out. It was almost like when I called the cops on my own father. Still, I bet Gaara didn't act this way when I had the incident with my father.

"Okay Kairi. Try to calm down. I'm on my way right now. I'll be there in 5 minutes, 10 at the most. Just stay put and don't go back in the house no matter what."

"Alright Lee. I owe you one." I flipped my phone shut and stuffed it back into my pocket. I knelt beside Gaara and wiped the blood off of his chin with the end of my t-shirt. I could see, from the street lights, that Gaara had some bruises on his face. I didn't know how bad it was though, since the lighting wasn't that great.

Lee pulled up around the same time the police did. I let Lee carry Gaara to the car while I answered a few of the police's questions.

After about 10-15 minutes, the officer gave me his card and told me to call sometime tomorrow so that we could discuss this further. I took the card and got into the car with Lee.

Lee drove me to my house and carried Gaara inside for. He laid him down on my bed. We didn't have a guest room, since my room had been the guest room. My bed was a queen sized bed and the room was kind of small. I was fine with it though.

Lee turned back to me and frowned.

"Are you sure you are going to be okay Kairi?" he asked me, looking at me in concern. I smiled at him with uncertainty and nodded.

"I think so," I told him. "Thank you so much Lee. You really are amazing." He smiled and pulled me into a hug.

"Anytime Kairi," he whispered into my ear. "Take care of yourself, and your little friend." I nodded and smiled.

Once Lee left, I was able to give my full attention to Gaara. I went into the bathroom and got the first aid kit out.

I sat on the edge of the bed, looking at Gaara's face in disappointment. He had bruises all over his face, and they were worse than I had thought they would be.

I cleaned the dried blood from Gaara's face, doing my best not to hurt him by pressing to hard. Then I put some healing lotion on his busted lip and some other lotion on his bruises to help ease the pain.

I dragged a wooden chair over to the side of my bed and sat down. I wanted to be here when he woke up, just like when he was there for me. I knew that I would probably fall asleep, but at least I would be there for him.

**ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo**

**2 hours later**

I quickly woke up when I heard a sudden moment and the sound of someone panting hard. I looked up to see Gaara sitting up, staring into space as his body shook uncontrollably. I took a seat on the edge of his bed and put a gentle hand on his shoulder. He jumped at the touch, looking at me with fearful eyes. I have never seen him like this before. It made me feel so horrible for him. His father must have done something awful for Gaara to be acting this shaken up. It was definitely unlike him.

I watched sadly as tears started slowly falling down his cheeks. I quickly wiped them away with my thumb before wrapping my arms around his trembling body. I gently rubbed his back, trying to calm him down. He laid his head against my chest, and his shaky breathing started to even out, but not entirely.

"I-I-I'm s-so weak," Gaara stammered, his voice barely about a whisper. I frowned at him .

"No you're not," I whispered into his ear. "Anyone who can put up with someone like him is amazingly strong." I ran my fingers through his crimson red hair. His shaking began to slowly lessen until they were completely gone.

When I thought that he was asleep, I carefully laid him down with his head on the pillow. I attempted to get up without waking him, planning on laying down in Rina's bed. As it turned out, he was never actually asleep. Before I even got off the bed, he grabbed me by the wrist.

"Please don't leave," he whispered. I looked down into his sad, fearful eyes and was immediately won over. I sighed and nodded.

"Then scoot over," I told him, sitting down on the bed. Gaara scooted over and I laid down beside him.

"Go to sleep Gaara," I whispered. He looked at me with sleepy eyes, struggling to keep them open. "Don't worry, I'll be right here. I won't let anything happen to you." He blinked a couple times before nodding and closing his eyes.

"Thank you," he whispered before drifting off to sleep. I smiled and closed my eyes as well. He didn't need to thank me. I owed him one anyway.

* * *

**_Oh Yeah! Om my goodness! I used up all my downloads! Oh No! I typed up two more chapters on my lap top, but I don't have any internet service on it yet. I will have to go to Panera Bread today so I can upload them to the internet. Or wait until tomorrow after school when I get internet service. _**

**_Thank you reviewers!_**

_**Kita Kudai - **How about Gaara's dad coming to get him? lol. Never saw that coming, did you? Mwahahaha! I'm so evil._

_**demona013 - **you're welcome! I'm glad that you like the story!_

**_Hope you all enjoyed! Please Review!_**


	9. Chapter 9

**CHAPTER 9**

_**Kairi's POV**_

I woke up once again to the sound of Gaara whispering something to himself. I looked over at the digital clock, seeing that it was close to 2 in the morning. I then looked back over at Gaara, who was still whispering something to himself. He had his knees pulled up to his chest, and I could feel through the bed that he was trembling.

"Gaara," I whispered, sitting up. Gaara whipped his head around to look at me. He was obviously startled by suddenly hearing someone's voice.

"Kairi?" he asked softly. I nodded, scooting closer to him.

"Yes Gaara, it's me. Are you okay?" Gaara buried his face into his knees.

"S-so much b-blood," he stammered. I looked at him with sad eyes. I wrapped my arms around him, realizing that he was covered in sweat. Still, I pulled him close to my body. He let go of his knees and laid his head against my chest.

"It was only a nightmare," I whispered in his ear. "Everything is going to be okay. Just go back to sleep." I felt as if I were talking to a mere child.

Laid Gaara's back down with his head on the pillow. I pulled the covers up to his shoulders and ruffled his hair before lying back down and falling asleep.

**XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO**

_**Gaara's POV**_

I slowly opened my eyes, feeling someone running their fingers through my hair. I groaned, since the room was too bright. I blinked a couple of times, letting my eyes readjust to my surroundings. I rolled my head to the side, finding Kairi lying next to me with a smile on her face.

"Good morning," she said softly. I didn't say anything. I just stared into her eyes, waiting for her to say something else. She was silent. Instead, she lightly ran her fingers over my face. I winced as she went over the bruises.

"You look like I did after my MMA tournament," she said softly, smirking a little. "Are you still sore?"

"My head is killing me?" I grumbled, closing my eyes. It felt as if I had been hit in the head with a bag of bricks.

"Well, I'm going to go get changed. After I do that, I really need to call your sister and let her know where you have been." My eyes shot open. I had completely forgotten about Temari and Kankurou.

"She's going to be pissed off," I moaned.

"I think she'll be more relieved to hear that you're alright," Kairi told me. "I'll bring you some aspirin when I come back up." I nodded and closed my eyes again.

About 10 minutes went by. The house had been quiet. The silence was broken with Kairi and Naruto yelling at each other in the hallway.

"I can't believe it!" Naruto exclaimed.

"Mind your own business Naruto!" Kairi snapped at him.

"This is my business!"

"Since when?!"

"When I found you sleeping with him last night!" I could feel my cheeks burning. This was definitely one of those awkward moments.

"And your point?"

"What do you mean!?" Naruto screamed. "You're not even 16 yet! How can you be so relaxed about this! I mean, what if you're pregnant!" My face grew even hotter. I just wanted to disappear at the moment.

"You thought we had sex!?" Kairi screamed back. I could tell that she was extremely pissed. "You are such a pervert! We didn't do anything Naruto! We just slept in the same bed together and we were fully clothed! I can't believe you would think I would do something like that!"

Moments later, Kairi stormed in, slamming the door behind her. Her face was a deep red, some of it from anger and some from embarrassment. She came over and sat down on the edge of the bed. She held out a pill in her hand, which I took, and gave me a glass of water to take it with. I popped the pill into my mouth and swallowed the water. When I finished, I gave the glass back to her and she set it down on the bed side table.

"Sorry about the trouble," I apologized. She blushed and nodded.

"I don't see what he was screaming about. I don't think it was nearly as bad as what I caught him doing the other week."

"And that would be?"

"He was lying on the couch with his girlfriend Hinata basically on top of him. We barely had any contact." I just nodded and slowly got to my feet.

"What did Temari say?"

"She just wants you home. She was extremely worried about you."

"Then I guess I had better go," I sighed, walking past her.

"I'll walk you home," Kairi said, following me out the door. "I want to make sure you get home safely." I just nodded and let her tag along.

When I got home, I was smothered with hugs. Kairi didn't lie about Temari being extremely worried. The fear I saw in her eyes when she saw what had happened to me was horrible. I don't think I have ever seen her that frightened before. It's definitely something that I don't want to see again.

After the little reunion, Temari went back to being her old self again.

"Baby brother, you look like shit," she told me very bluntly. "Go upstairs and clean yourself up. I want you taking it easy today." I nodded and looked at Kairi, whom was smirking at me.

"I'm going to walk Kairi to the door," I told her. Temari nodded and gave Kairi a quick hug.

"Thank you so much," Temari told her gratefully. "I'm so glad that you showed up before anything else happened." Kairi nodded.

"Of course," Kairi replied.

I walked Kairi to the door and we stood there for a couple of seconds.

"I hope you get well soon," she told me softly. I nodded.

"Kairi," I began. "Will you come again tomorrow?" She stared into my eyes for a few minutes before smiling and nodding.

"Of course I will," she said softly. She took a few steps towards me and slowly wrapped her arms around me, giving me one last hug before walking out the door. "I'll see you tomorrow," she said as she shut the door behind her.

I stood there for a few moments, wondering what it was that I was feeling. I wasn't sure what it was, but I didn't want it to go away.

"Gaara!" Temari hollered from the living room, "If Kairi is gone, then you better be getting your butt upstairs and getting yourself cleaned up!" I sighed and moped up the stairs to take a shower.

**XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO**

**_Lol! I don't know about the rest of you guys, but I could totally see Naruto doing something like that. That's one of the fun things about having Naruto in the story. He gets to embarrass all the other characters. Lol._**

**_I owe a special thanks to all the reviewers. _**

_**MandaPandaGCS13 - **I'm sorry that I brought you to tears, but I'm glad that my work was able to bring such emotions. I am honestly a bit surprised to hear this because I have such a fit about how my writing isn't good enough and what not._

_**demona013 - **meh, she shouldn't waste her time on scum as low as him._

_**Sarimia - **it was a bit of a sad chapter, but I have written worse. i'm writing this neji one right now, but i am kind of afraid to put it up on account of what people might think. anyway, the next couple chapters are going to be a bit more light-hearted._

_**What About Today - **LOL! I love your dramaticism! a lot of people hated Gaara in the previous chapter._

**_I'm glad you all reviewed and hope to receive more. it always makes me so happy! Keep up your part and I'll keep up mine._**

**_Hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Please Review! Oh, and just to announce it, you guys are gonna love the upcoming chapters! I can't wait to post them up, but I will. The more reviews i get though, the more i am inclined to post. So Review!!!!_**


	10. Chapter 10

**_WARNING! I LOVE THIS CHAPTER!! WOOT! JUST READ IT AND YOU WILL FIND OUT WHY! HOO YEAH!!!_**

**CHAPTER 10**

_**Kairi's POV**_

I went over to Gaara's today, like I normally did. I also brought over a CD for us to listen to, since we never really did anything.

I rang the door bell consecutively 3 times and went inside. I never waited for anyone to answer the door, and they never really expected me to. After all, this was like my second home and they were like my second family. Still, I liked to be polite. I rang the doorbell 3 times so they would know who it was.

I walked up the stairs and knocked on Gaara's door. I waited for him to open it and let me come in. I sat down on the floor, leaning back against Gaara's bed. Gaara sat down in a chair that was near his desk.

I was glad to see that Gaara looked more like himself today. Yesterday, he still looked freaked out. I wasn't surprised, since he was attacked by his father the night before. Today, he didn't look as jumpy and his bruises were starting to heal.

"Does Naruto still think that we had sex?" Gaara asked, smirking at me. My cheeks started to get hot, telling me that I was blushing.

"I explained everything to him, so he shouldn't still think that," I explained. Gaara nodded and his smirk slowly faded away. "What about your siblings? How are they taking everything?" He frowned and sighed.

"Nothing much is happening yet," he started. "If and when my father gets out, Temari isn't going to let me go anywhere with out someone else coming with me. It's going to be extremely troublesome." I got up and headed over to Gaara's CD player, popping in _Fall Out Boy_. I then went back over to where I is was before and laid down on the floor. I watched as Gaara reached over, picking up his sketch pad and a pencil.

"What are you going to draw?" I asked him. He brought the tip of the pencil to the surface of the paper and started to draw.

"You," he answered softly, "If you can hold still long enough." I smiled and nodded. I listened to the music and watched as Gaara's pencil glided across the page. After awhile, I got bored of that and closed my eyes. I day dreamed about stuff for a few minutes before smirking to myself. I then opened my eyes and looked at Gaara.

"Do you know what animal I would want to be?" I asked.

"No," Gaara simply answered. I giggled.

"I want to be a giant Finnish Rabbit, 15 pounds of pure bunny."**(1)** Gaara stopped drawing and gave me a weird look. I laughed and Gaara went back to his picture.

After about 20 minutes, Gaara was finished.

"Let me see!" I chirped, getting up and snatching the pad of paper out of his hands. I smiled and looked at him. "It's really good," I complimented.

"You can keep it if you want," he told me.

"You should keep it," I objected, shoving it back into his arms.

"I have plenty…." He stopped himself from saying it any further. I smirked at him as his cheeks turned a light shade of red.

"If it makes you feel any better, I have a sketch pad filled with pictures of you at home." It apparently didn't help. His blush deepened in color. "I'm sorry," I apologized. We were then surrounded by an awkward silence.

"I can't believe that school is going to start in 3 weeks," I sighed. Gaara nodded in disappointment.

"Neither can I," he sighed.

"I'm bored. Want to go for a walk or something?" Gaara nodded.

**XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO**

_**Gaara's POV**_

Kairi and I ended up going to the dojo. I really have no clue why. I just followed her, and this is where she led me.

"I want you to meet someone," she told me. We walked to the opposite side of the dojo, where a boy in a green jumpsuit was doing push ups.

"Lee-sempai!" she squealed. The boy was startled and ended up falling flat on his face. He got up and looked at Kairi with a smile.

"Kairi, it's good to see you." He looked at me and grinned. "And it is good to meet you while you are still conscious. How are you feeling?" I gave him a weird look.

"Gaara, this is Lee," Kairi introduced. "The night your father broke in, he came and gave us a ride to his place." I nodded.

"I'm doing better, I guess."

"Kairi has suggested that you might be interested in some lessons." I was a bit confused.

"I guess," I mumbled. Why not. It would be something to do, and maybe Temari wouldn't baby me if she knew that I would be able to defent myself properly.

"That's splendid! Kairi and I can teach you. I am certain that you will greatly benefit from this."

**XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO**

_**Kairi's POV**_

Today I took Gaara to the dojo, and taught him a few moves. Gaara has started taking some jujitsu lessons a couple of weeks ago, and he's improving very quickly. I help him practice regularly now. So far, he's now learning how to read body movements, since that is very important in jujitsu.

Basically, I throw some kicks and punches at him in some random order. All he has to do is block or dodge it. That is what usually happened anyway. Today, when I did that, something completely unexpected happened. I don't think that I'll ever forget today, even if I tried.

**ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo**

"Alright Gaara, are you ready?" I asked. Gaara nodded. I threw a fake punch at his face, following through with a side kick. He grabbed my ankle, forcing me off balance. I smirked; kicking at his ankles and making him trip as well. Both of us got up, and I let Gaara practice his hits on me.

I basically just dodge them, wanting him to learn how to follow through. He needed to get used to how it felt. I just kept backing up and dodging. I wasn't really paying attention and eventually backed up into a wall.

Gaara threw a punch to my face, but I caught his fist. I struggled to keep him from over powering me. Gaara smirked, making me a bit angry that he was finding this funny.

"What's up with you?" I asked. The way my voice sounded made it evident that I was struggling. He threw another punch with his free hand, and I caught that too. I was doing all that I could to keep him from pinning me to the wall. Now I was trying to think of a way to use his strength to my advantage.

"Kairi," he said. I glared at him.

"What is it?" He smirked.

"I love you," he said simply. My mind went totally blank. He used this to his advantage and pinned me up against the wall. I glared at him furiously.

"You jackass!" I spat. "I can't believe you would toy with my emotions, just to throw me off!" Gaara smirked, leaning in close.

"I meant it," he whispered in my ear. His breath was warm against my neck, making me totally freeze up. I could feel my skin prickle and shivered as chills went down my spine. All my emotions were mixing together, and I couldn't think straight.

I was brought back to my senses, when I felt warmth upon my lips. I blinked, my eyes widening as I realized that he was actually kissing me.

After a few moments, he pulled away when he realized that I wasn't kissing back.

"Maybe I shouldn't have done that," he grumbled, his cheeks turning a slight shade of red. He seemed a bit disappointed as well. His grip on my wrists lessened, giving me the chance to make a move.

I smirked, turning the tables. I stuck my foot behind his leg, and shoved him hard. He grunted as he hit the mat with a thud. I pinned his arms to the mat, smirking at the shock in his eyes.

"The only thing you shouldn't have done was keep me in the dark," I told him playfully. I leaned in and brushed my lips against his, teasing him since I didn't go into a full kiss.Why I was acting this way was beyond me. I was wrapped up in the moment, and I wasn't about to let it slip away.

Removing my grip on his arms, I allowed him to slowly sit up. I was basically sitting on his lap, preventing him from getting up. Gaara wrapped one of his arms around my waist, pulling me in closer. He used his other arm to give him support so that he wouldn't fall over. Giggling, I snaked my arms around his neck. This time, I kissed him. My eyes slowly shut as my lips crushed against his. After a minute, we pulled away to breathe.

"We should probably take this somewhere else," I told him, my voice a little shaky. "I would really hate for someone to find us like this. It was already hard enough explaining that one incident to Naruto. I'd hate to have to explain it to someone else, especially since we really are doing a bit more than last time." Gaara nodded in agreement. I slowly got off of him and got to my feet, helping Gaara up as well. Taking Gaara's hand in my own, the two of us walked off.

My heart was beating so fast. I was so happy. I think that it was the happiest moment of my life so far. I knew that there would be more happy moments, along with sad moments. I didn't really care, as long as I had Gaara.

**XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO**

**_(1) Okay, so I got this from one of my favorite TV shows "Life". The main character Charlie Cruise and his partner were working on a murder case. The victim was someone who believed in reincarnation, and of course Charlie being as open as he is said how he wanted to be a giant Finnish rabbit, 15 pounds of pure bunny. I couldn't help it. I love that line. Everytime I see rabbit, I think about that line. I love it! lol!_**

**_HA! didn't I tell you the upcoming chapter was going to be hot! WOOT! I thought so at least. lol. Anyway... yeah... okay. I have to go make some psychology flashcards and write a lab report for chemistry. I have to type some more, because I'm kind of out of downloads. I should find some time to do that this weekend though. I hope you all enjoyed that. TTYL! PLEASE REVIEW! YOU KNOW YOU WANT TO!_**


	11. Chapter 11

**CHAPTER 11**

_**Gaara's POV**_

School has started back up again. Kairi and I don't have as many classes together this year. This year, we only have four bells together. Thankfully, we still have our lunch period together.

Kairi and I haven't really done anything intimate like since what happened at the dojo. I don't really know what to do. No one knows about the fact that we have kissed, and I personally think that it's better that way. I really don't need my siblings babying me and teasing the two of us.

On the night of the homecoming dance, Kairi came over my place and we hung out. We watched some movie that Kankurou told us we needed to watch. It was some type of horror film. I was surprised that he had suggested that we watched it. It was incredibly grotesque.

Kairi kept clinging onto me and hiding her face in my clothes every time a scary part came onto the screen. I was surprised that Kairi was able to watch it all the way through.

After that ended, we popped in another movie. This one was a little better. It was more of an action/suspense film. Kairi really seemed to get into it, which became pretty entertaining.

By the end of the movie, she had started falling asleep on my arm. I just wrapped my arm around her and let her snuggle in close to me.

"Gaara," she mumbled. I looked down at her, seeing that her eyes were barely open.

"Hmm?"

"Why do you put up with me?" I frowned at her.

"If have already tried ignoring you, and it didn't really work out very well," I told her softly. "I want to be with you. You are one of the first people to accept me as I am. There is no way that I am going to let someone like that slip through my fingers." She sighed, burying her head deeper into my clothes.

"Don't leave me," she said tiredly. "That stupid movie is going to haunt me. Remind me to kick Kankurou's ass tomorrow. I smirked and nodded, even though she couldn't see. I took one of the couch pillows and got myself comfortable. Kairi did the same.

"Goodnight," I whispered into her ear.

"Goodnight," she yawned. I listened as her breathing began to even out and smiled to myself. Slowly, I began to fall asleep. I don't know why, but whenever I was with Kairi, I found it so much easier to sleep.

**ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo**

_**Naruto's POV**_

I dragged Kairi along with me back to my home town. Of course, she dragged along Gaara. I didn't mind. The more, the merrier. After all, we liked having as many people as we could when we were playing Ultimate Frisbee. Kairi's sempai at the dojo, Lee, drove us there and was would be picking us up as well.

"You guys are rather insane to be going out and playing in this type of weather," Lee us. Gaara and I were sitting in the back seat while Kairi sat up front. I grinned at him and shook my head.

"Have you ever played ultimate Frisbee before?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. Lee shook his head.

"I am sorry to say that I have not."

"Well, there you go! Anyone that has ever played a real Ultimate Frisbee game knows that it is always more fun to either play in the rain, or in the snow."

"And I am guessing that you are planning to play this game in the snow." I grinned and nodded. "Have you ever played Gaara?" I asked. He shook his head.

"I haven't done it in the snow either," he said emotionlessly. "This is the first time I've actually been in the snow." Kairi turned around and stared at him in shock, as did I.

"You have never been out in the snow before?!" she asked in shock. Gaara shook his head. "How is that even possible?!"

"I practically lived in the desert before I moved here last year. It didn't snow here last year, so this makes it the first time that I have actually been out in it." Kairi and I smirked at him.

"Well, we are going to make sure that you have a good time," I told him.

Gaara was wearing an extra snow suit that we had, along with some extra snow gear that we had. The snow suit was a dark grey. He wore his coat over top of that. His coat was black with the picture of a skull on the back. He also wore a pair of black gloves, a pair of black snow boots, and wore a black snow hat that had grey horizontal stripes. Kairi was wearing a black snow suit with a dark purple coat on top. She had on black snow boots, black gloves, and a purple snow hat. Rina had braided her hair for her so that it wouldn't get all messy and tangled up when we played. I was wearing and orange snow suit with a blue coat. I wore orange gloves, a dark orange snow hat, and dark blue boots.

"Is your girlfriend going to be there?" Kairi asked me, smirking. I rolled my eyes at her but nodded.

We finally got there, and were surprisingly the last people to arrive

"You made it Naruto!" Kiba exclaimed, "And you brought friends!" I grinned and nodded.

"Everyone, this is my sister Kairi!" I announced, pointing at her. I then pointed at Gaara. "And this is our friend, Gaara."

**XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO**

_**Kairi's POV**_

I couldn't help but blush a little when Naruto referred to me as his sister. It made me feel so special.

"Nice to meet you. My name's Kiba and this here is my dog Akamaru." I smiled as looked down at the little white dog. "The other guys over there are Sasuke, Shino, Choji, Haku, Shikamaru and Neji." He pointed to each one as he said their names. A girl wearing different shades of pink stepped forward and grinned at me.

"I'm Sakura," she said, introducing herself. "The other girls over there are Ino, Hinata, and TenTen." Each girl gave a little wave as her name was said. I just smiled and waved back. Just then, she took me by the arm and pulled me over to the girls. Naruto took Gaara to the arm and pulled him over to where the boys were. The Sakura and Kiba stepped out into the middle.

"Alright, so we are basically going to play boys against girls. There are more guys than girls, so we get to pick who we want to be on our team out of your group."

"Fine, but we get to choose who gets to pick," Kiba told her. Sakura smirked and nodded. Kiba looked back at the boys and all of them except Gaara nodded. "We choose the new girl." Sakura frowned and waved for me to come over. I smirked and walked over.

"You get to pick two boys to come be on our team," she told me. I nodded.

"First of all, I want to ask something about the rules," I said. Sakura pointed at Kiba and I smirked.

"What do you want to know?"

"Do you guys do the 5 second tackle rule?" Kiba raised an eyebrow in curiosity.

"You give whoever has the Frisbee 5 seconds, and then you are allowed to tackle them. It's something made especially for the snow and rain." Kiba smirked.

"I guess we can do that, but I don't know if you girls would really be able to tackle us." The guys laughed from behind him. I just smirked.

"Okay." I put a finger to my chin, thinking about who I didn't want to tackle. After a couple of minutes I grinned.

"I choose Haku and Shino." Haku smiled and Shino silently walked over. Some of the other's teased them, including Naruto.

We all huddled up and discussed some strategies. Then after saying what the goal lines were, we started playing.

Haku started with the Frisbee, giving us all the chance to run out. He threw it to Hinata, but Kiba ended up intercepting it. He threw it Neji, who was just about to throw it to Shikamaru. I blocked him. He kept on trying to throw around me, but I wouldn't let him.

"Five!" I shouted with a grin. Neji's eyes went wide as I tackled him into the snow. Everyone stopped and stared. I got up and helped Neji to his feet. The two of us were grinning. He handed the Frisbee to me and I threw it to TenTen.

"Nice one," Neji complimented. I smirked and nodded.

**ooooooooooooooooooooo**

We had so much fun. Hinata ended up tackling Kiba, which had everyone shocked. After awhile, we got bored with Frisbee and started a snowball war. We even took prisoners, which was really funny. TenTen captured Naruto, telling him that if he didn't surrender, she would stuff snow down his suit. Gaara seemed to enjoy himself too. I think I actually saw him smile, and I think I heard him laughing too. I don't know how many times I hit him in the back of the head with a snow ball. I kind of lost count. He eventually got me back though.

We were shaking uncontrollably by the time Lee came to pick us up. I am so grateful to Lee. He brought along a nice warm blanket for us to use. The three of us clambered into the back seat, shivering beneath the blankets. I laid my wet head against Gaara and he wrapped a welcoming arm around me. Naruto smirked at the two of us, but we just ignored it. Neither of us really cared. We were very close friends. Hell, you could even say that the two of us were a couple. We didn't go out or anything, but we didn't really need to. We spent most of our time together anyway. Ever since that time in the dojo, I've considered us to be a couple, and I'm sure that if I asked Gaara, he would agree.

"So did you like the snow?" I asked, looking into his sea-green eyes. He smirked and nodded.

"A was a little cold for my taste, but it was still fun." I smiled and giggled.

"Want to come over for some hot chocolate Lee?" I asked.

"Thank you Kairi, I would love to."

"What about you Gaara? I bet you have never had hot chocolate with a group of friends before." Gaara shook his head.

"No, I haven't." Naruto looked at him in shock.

"Then you are definitely staying for hot chocolate my friend," he said with a grin. He smirked at him and nodded.

**XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO**

_**Okay, so this chapter was a little weird. I'm kind of running low on ideas, so it's going to start taking me a bit longer to update. If any of you guys have any suggestions, or want to see something happen, I'd love to hear it. Basically, I have been basing everything off of what has been happening around me. For instance, it just snowed the other day and I saw some kids playing in the snow. Then I kind of got an idea for this chapter.**_

_**I have some ideas, but they are all really stretching it, or are sad. I want to try and keep it on the happy side for a little while longer.**_

_**Anyways, please review! I need ideas and the motivation, so REVIEW!**_


	12. Chapter 12

**CHAPTER 12**

_**Kairi's POV**_

Tonight I stayed the night at Hinata's house, along with all the other girls I had met during Ultimate Frisbee. It was kind of nice to be hanging around a bunch of girls for once. The only time I actually got to spend time with another girl was when I hung out with Temari. That was rare though, since Temari was always studying for college and what not. I didn't mind hanging out with boys, especially Gaara. It was just a nice change. After all, there is so much that you can tell a guy. I mean, it's kind of awkward about talking to a boy about……. Well, about boys, or shopping, or about other girl stuff.

"So Kairi, tell us more about yourself," Ino told me, playing with my hair. For some reason, all the girls decided to give me a makeover. I didn't really want to, since I hate make-up with a passion. They promised that they would only do my hair and nails, which I agreed to. There was no reason to do make-up, since I would be taking it off soon anyway.

"Well, what do you want to know?" I asked, not really sure of what I should tell them.

"How is life with Naruto?" TenTen asked, which made Hinata blush. TenTen was painting my fingernails and Hinata painted my toe-nails.

"I love Naruto," I told them, "But sometimes I just want to strangle him. He can be pretty obnoxious sometimes." The girls giggled and nodded.

"What do you like to do in your spare time?" Sakura asked. I sighed and smiled.

"I like painting, listening to music, practicing jujitsu, and just hanging out with Gaara and his siblings."

"Gaara's that red-haired boy, right?" TenTen asked. I nodded, which made Ino angry.

"Quit moving your head!" she snapped. I giggled and apologized.

"Are you two best friends, or more?" Sakura asked, smirking at me. I blushed slightly, and bit my bottom lip.

"I guess you can say that we are a couple," I said in uncertainty.

"Well, did you two kiss yet?" Ino asked, raising an eyebrow. I blushed even more and nodded. Ino demanded for the details, so I spilled my guts. At the end, all of the girls were going "Awe! That's so adorable!" I was actually kind of embarrassed about it. It was a little weird, telling people about this, but it was also a bit relieving.

"Please, don't tell Naruto everything I told you!" I begged. "I'm pretty sure that he knows about our relationship, but he doesn't need to know all the details. Even though it isn't that bad, Naruto always makes it worse than it actually is."

"D-don't worry K-Kairi," Hinata assured me. "Our l-lips are s-sealed." I smiled and thanked them.

"Oh! I have a great idea!" TenTen exclaimed. We all looked at her. "Tomorrow, we should get Kairi all dressed up for Gaara. I'm sure the expression on his face will be priceless." I chuckled and nodded.

"I don't really have any nice clothes though," I admitted. "I'm not the one to get all dressed up. The only thing I care about is being comfortable."

"Well, what do you have?" Sakura asked.

"Sweat pants, baggy jeans, sweatshirts, graphic tees. Nothing much."

"I'll say!" Ino exclaimed. "That's okay. I have plenty of clothes that you can borrow. You'll look so kuwaii by the time we're done with you."

"And that means that you're going to have to wear makeup," TenTen told me. I groaned, but nodded all the same.

"Fine," I sighed. "Just don't over do it, okay?" The girls smiled and nodded.

**oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo**

The next day, I went through a complete makeover. Of course, Ino did my hair. I was amazed at how well she did. She put it up into a messy bun, using this fun black and purple scrunchie. Sakura did my make-up. It included mascara, eyeliner, eye shadow, blush, and this purple colored lipstick.

Most of Ino's clothes weren't my style, since they were all bright colored and fun. I refused to where anything pink, white, or yellow. I despise those colors with every part of my being.

After tearing through Ino's closest, Hinata and TenTen were able to find some clothes in colors that I didn't mind wearing.

"Why didn't you say you liked those colors?!" Ino asked in surprise. She pushed TenTen and Hinata out of the way and dug through a bunch of her darker colored clothes. "Try these on!" she ordered, shoving the clothes into my arms and pushing me into the bathroom.

When I came out, they were all grinning.

"You look hot!" TenTen declared, which made me blush. I was wearing a black mini skirt with fishnet stockings that ended right above the kneecap. I also wore a dark purple spaghetti strap top that had this silver outline of a dragon on the front. Over my top, I wore a black jean jacket that had the same design on the back, but in purple and silver.

"Can you wear heels?" Sakura asked, holding a pair of high heeled boots up for me to see. I shook my head, which made all the girls frown.

"You h-have p-p-plenty of t-time to p-p-practice," Hinata stammered. I sighed and took the boots from Sakura, putting them on. Hinata helped me lace up the boots and stand up. I took a few steps before tripping and falling flat on my face. The girls looked at me with hopeless eyes.

"How much time does she have before meeting with Gaara?" TenTen asked.

"About 4 hours," Sakura replied. The girls sighed and pulled me back onto my feet.

"This is going to be a long day," Ino sighed.

**XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO**

_**Gaara's POV**_

Sakura had texted me earlier this morning, saying she wanted to hang out with me. I left her a message, telling her that she could come over this afternoon. My siblings wouldn't be coming home until later that night, so we would be able to have the house to ourselves. I also told her that we have another movie that we could watch. She replied by saying that she would be there at four and that she had a surprise for me.

I had no idea what she meant by that. I thought she was going to try and pull a prank on me or something, since that is what the last surprise was. Of course, that was on April fools day, so I should have expected that. What she did surprise me with, was definitely surprising.

**ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo**

The doorbell rang three times, and then I hear Kairi opening and closing the door. I went to go meet her, and when I saw her, I stopped dead in my tracks. My eyes widened and I could feel my heart racing faster. I don't think I have ever seen her like this before.

I blinked a couple of times, trying to regain my composure.

"Are you okay Gaara?" she asked, giggling a little bit. I quickly nodded and walked over to where she was standing.

"What are you wearing?" I asked her, shock in my voice.

"You don't like it?" she asked, sounding a little disappointed. I smirked and shook my head.

"I think you look fine," I assured her, taking her hand in mine. She smiled and the both of us went into the living room to watch the movie.

Through the entire movie, she snuggled in close to me, laying her head against my chest. We were watching one of these sappy romance movies that Temari had left for us to watch. At one point, Kairi began crying. I smirked at her and gently rubbed her neck and back, comforting her.

Once the movie was over, we sat there in silence for awhile. I could tell that she was uncomfortable, and so was I. I didn't know what to do, and it seemed as if she didn't either. I don't know what came over me. My body just started making decisions on its own.

I pulled Kairi over to me, and she willingly scooted closer. She took a seat on my lap and nestled her head into my chest. I took her chin in my hand, bringing her face to look at me. She smiled, as if she knew what was going through my mind.

**XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO**

_**Kairi's POV**_

I sat up and turned to face him. He cupped my cheek in his hand and gently pressed his lips against mine, and of course I kissed him back. I pulled away a couple of minutes later, only to breathe. Gaara slid his hand behind my head, pulling me in for another kiss, crushing his lips into mine.

Gaara pulled away and started kissing my neck, which made chills go up and down my spine. I put a hand beneath his chin, causing him to look at me. I smirked and wrapped my hands behind his head. He smirked right back at me and kissed me hard.

Suddenly, Gaara pulled away from me and whipped his head around. I looked too and saw Kankurou standing in the doorway with his mouth hanging open. The two of us glared at him, which made him close his mouth.

"What are you doing here?" Gaara asked bitterly. Kankurou rolled his eyes out of him.

"I live here little brother, remember?" Kankurou told him.

"I know that, but you weren't supposed to be home until 10." Kankurou chuckled.

"I decided to come home early, and it's a good thing I did. Who knows what you two would be doing." Gaara furrowed his brow at him, increasing his glare. I smirked at him and snaked my arms around his middle. Kankurou stared at me, his eyes widening.

"What are you wearing?!" he asked in shock. I giggled and rolled my eyes at him.

"Why would you care?" Kankurou just shrugged and leaned against the wall, folding his arms across his chest. "Let's go upstairs," I whispered into Gaara's ear. He nodded and the two of us got up. Kankurou watched as we walked past him and went up the stairs.

I led Gaara into his room and took a seat on his bed. Gaara shut and locked the door, then took a seat next to me on the bed. We smirked at each other for a moment before he wrapped an arm around my waist again, pulling me close to his body. He started kissing my neck, slowly making his way lips. I smiled, and put a hand behind his head. I pulled him closer, intensifying the kiss.

After about 5 minutes, we stopped. I was lying next to Gaara on his bed, with him holding me close to his body.

"I love you," Gaara whispered into my ear. I smiled, knowing it was true.

"I know," I whispered back, "And I love you too." He pulled me even closer, encasing me in his warmth.

"Promise that you'll never leave." I shook my head and looked at him. I saw that I had hurt him, and kind of felt bad.

"I can't promise something that I can't control," I explained. "I promise that I will always be there for you." He nodded and caressed my cheek.

"I can live with that," he told me with a smirk. I chuckled and gave him a peck on the cheek.

**XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO**

_**Hoped you liked that chapter. I don't know how I came up with this, but I kind of based her reaction off of me. I don't like make-up all the much either, and I don't normally wear mini skirts and high heels. Anyways, on to the thankyous!**_

_**White moon dragon of light – **__thank you_

_**UchihaKinakae – **__thank you so much for the ideas! I guess this is a bit more fluffy, I think. Anyway, and thanks for everything else as well._

_**Sarahboden – **__thanks! And here's another one._

_**What About Today – **__A road trip would be fun, but the only problem is that neither of them can drive yet. I reckon that they would be learning at this age, but neither of them could drive by themselves. Lee would have to drive!_

_**Hibiki-chan – **__I know! I love Ultimate Frisbee as well! I've never played it in the snow before, but it is so much fun in the rain. I love diving into the mud puddles most of all! I'm so glad that you like this story. I hope that I continue to keep your interest._

_**A special thank you to all my reviewers. You people are so awesome. This chapter is dedicated to you all! HOO YEAH! Anyways, I am doing my best to keep it on the happy side for just a while longer, but I'm so bad at stuff like that. I swear, I'm so mean to Kairi. I'm doing my best to prevent myself from doing anything too bad to her. It's not as easy as people make it though.**_

_**PLEASE REVIEW! Let me know what you want to see happen! I will do my best to include it! REVIEW! WOOT WOOT!**_


	13. Chapter 13

**CHAPTER 13**

_**Gaara's POV**_

As soon as my older brother saw Temari, the word about Kairi and me was out. Now she is making a huge deal about it. She's always talking about how cute we look together and how happy she was that I had a girlfriend. The worst part about it was that Temari gave me "the talk". I'm going to be 16 soon. She really didn't need to tell me anything like that. I already knew about all that stuff.

Temari said that she trusted me and would give the two of us some space and privacy. I'm happy to hear about that, on account of she embarrasses the hell out of me.

Kairi got suspended from school today. She's not allowed back for another 10 days. I still can't wrap my mind around it. Kairi and trouble at school just didn't go together. Naruto and I feel partially responsible about it as well.

**oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo**

"I swear I hate that new kid Deidara!" Naruto exclaimed. I nodded in agreement. I really didn't like him. We didn't do a single thing to the kid, and he still pushes us around. Hell, we're not even in the same grade as him. He's in a couple of our classes, mostly because he is a slacker and doesn't do any of the work to get a passing grade.

"What did I ever do to the stupid punk?!" I shrugged, not really knowing the answer. Naruto continued putting the things he didn't need for our next class in his locker. He handed me my history book and I took it, handing him my algebra book.

"I think that he's just power hungry," I told him. Naruto nodded and smirked.

"Are you talking about me, hnn?" a voice from behind us asked. We slowly turned around, not surprised to see Deidara standing right behind us.

"What if we were?" Naruto asked, only adding to Deidara's anger.

"You better watch it you little punk!" Naruto and I only smirked.

"Or what?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. "We're not afraid of you." Deidara then smirked at us. Just as Kairi was walking over to meet us, Deidara opened up one of the empty lockers and stuffed Naruto and I inside. He shut the door and I heard him snap the lock on it.

I couldn't see what happened, since I don't have x-ray vision, but I heard most of it.

"Son of a bitch!" Kairi cursed. Deidara snickered, but his snickering was interrupted. The next thing I hear is the sound of someone being thrown up against the locker. "You had better get them out now or I will break your arm!" I heard Naruto snickering, and I smirked. Kairi has always been protective over the two of us, and we have been the same way with her.

"Kairi!" someone exclaimed. "I want both of you in my office now!"

"Tell him to let my friends out of the locker!" she snapped.

"I'll have the custodian get them out. Now, to my office!"

Naruto and I definitely feel partially responsible. She would have never gotten involved if we wouldn't have caused a scene.

Apparently, Kairi had a talk with him while they were waiting in the office. She assured us that he won't be bothering us anymore. I'm not sure what she told him. Knowing Kairi, she probably threatened to send him to hell or something along those lines. The event was rather funny, but the consequences behind it weren't so humorous.

**XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO**

_**Kairi's POV**_

"What happened?!" Gaara asked me, fear in his voice. We were all standing outside of my house, looking at the house. There was a fire truck outside our house and the fire fighters were walking out and getting ready to leave.

"Rina kind of put me in charge of dinner tonight," I chuckled nervously, scratching the back of my head. Gaara raised an eyebrow, waiting for me to finish. "Let's just say that I can't cook for crap." Gaara smirked at me and shook his head in disappointment.

"I was wondering what you had faults in," he said in his monotone voice. I frowned at him and sighed.

"I already knew that I couldn't cook, but this just reinforces it." Gaara pulled me in his arms and kissed my forehead. "Are you praising me for almost burning down the house?" Gaara shook his head and kissed my head again.

"I'm just glad that you are safe," he said softly. I smiled.

"I may be bad, but I'm not that bad!"

"You were able to get the fire department over here, so you must be pretty bad." I frowned at him, but laughed.

"Okay, so I'm pretty bad. Bite me!" He smirked and I yipped as he nipped at my neck. "I didn't mean literally!" He smirked and kissed me on the neck.

**ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo**

It was winter break and Naruto dragged me along with him, Sasuke, and his older brother Itachi. I sat in the front seat, while Itachi drove. Naruto and Sasuke were sitting in the back seat. Naruto was talking at an incredible speed and Sasuke just smirked and nodded his head, probably only pretending to pay attention.

We were heading home from some sort of Christmas party, since Christmas was only a week away. It was dark and I was exhausted. I laid my head against the window, and closed my eyes. I probably would have been able to fall asleep if Naruto would have shut up. It's not like he could help it though. He totally went overboard on the caffeine.

Suddenly, everything seemed to be really bright and there was a loud crash.

**XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO**

_**I kind of kept it happy, sort of. Mwaha! A cliff hanger! I know this chapter is incredibly short, compared to all of my other chapters. Anyway, I will hopefully have the next chapter up later tonight if everything goes according to planned. If I don't have it up tonight, then it should be up no later than tomorrow. Also, this chapter and the next chapter are experimental. If people like them enough, then I will keep them up. I people don't, then I will take them down and create a new chapter. So if you like what you're reading, the REVIEW! If you don't like what you're reading, STILL REVIEW! Tell me what I could do to change it and I will work something out.**_

_**In this chapter, I decided to include a flaw in Kairi. I kind of thought that she was appearing to be too perfect.**_

_**Okay, on to my thanks!**_

_**demona13 – **__Thanks! I know, I thought it was sweet too._

_**Naomi-rox – **__I hate Sasuke too, but I hate Deidara even more. I dedicate the little fight to you, since you gave me the idea. It's not much, but at least it's something._

_**What About Today – **__Yeah, after reading back, I can see what you mean. Whoops! Lol. Thanks for pointing that out for me! I greatly appreciate that! I'll eventually get to fixing that._

_**zander herris – **__Thank you so much! I'm glad that you like it! I've always thought that it would be interesting to have Gaara be a child of abuse and I'm glad that you like that as well. I'm doing my best to keep it on the light side, which is why I'm making this chapter, primarily the end of it, and the next chapter or so experimental. I'm the type of person who keeps everything going off of conflict. If you think it gets too heavy, just let me know._

_**Kita Kudai – **__I know! I just thought it would be a change. Instead of Hinata getting pumbled, why not let Hinata do some of the pumbeling (spl?)_

_**Okay, so I'm going to get started on typing up the next chapter, since this one is so friggin short and you guys are probably itching to know what happens next. PLEASE REVIEW!**_


	14. Chapter 14

**CHAPTER 14**

_**Gaara's POV**_

Naruto and I sat by the hospital bed that Kairi was lying in. I had been visiting her every day since I had been told about the accident. Naruto told me that another car had run the red light that Itachi was driving through. It hit the passenger side of the car, leaving Kairi in her present state. Sasuke was on the same side of the car as Kairi, and was also in intensive care. Naruto and Itachi escaped the accident with minor injuries.

Naruto sighed, looking sadly at the black haired female. It had been nearly 3 days since the accident and she's been in a coma ever since. Naruto has been taking it extremely hard, probably even more than me.

"Why couldn't it have been me?" he would ask. "She has been through enough already."

"She's strong," I kept telling him. "If anything could make it through this, it would be Kairi." Whenever I told him that, I thought of the time her father had shot her. It wasn't as bad, but she didn't have as much to live for as she does now.

"Has anything changed?" Rina asked as she entered the room. Naruto and I just shook our heads sadly. Rina sighed and nodded. "I'm sorry, but it's time for us to get going." Naruto and I stared at Kairi for a few moments longer before finally standing up and following Rina out of the hospital room.

**XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO**

_**Naruto's POV**_

I don't think I have ever cried nowhere near as much as I have this week. I have been so miserable. Every morning, I wake up and expect to find Kairi already downstairs. Everyone keeps telling me that it's not my fault and I understand that. I just hate seeing anyone that I care about in these types of circumstances. It's going to be Christmas soon, and it was supposed to be the first Christmas that we spend it together as a family.

I don't even want anything for Christmas anymore. The only thing that I want is for Kairi to be alright. That's my only wish. Sasuke was released from the hospital today, although he's still banged up. I'm happy that one of my friends is alright. Even though I have known Sasuke much longer than I have known Kairi, I have a much stronger connection with her. It just wouldn't be the same anymore without her.

I was sitting in Kairi's hospital room, doing my best to stay awake. It was going on 10 at night and Rina was extremely pissed at me because I refused to leave. At the same time, she seemed to understand. Gaara had left about an hour ago, being forced to come home by his older sister. I knew that he would have stayed if he would have been allowed to, and if he could have over powered his sister.

It was around midnight when I started falling asleep. I was woken up by a nightmare of the car crash. It has been haunting my dreams for awhile now, and has caused me to get less and less sleep.

I blinked a few times, and looked up at Kairi. My eyes widened when I saw her. I rubbed my eyes for a moment, just to make sure that I wasn't seeing things. I wasn't! Kairi was staring at me through blank eyes, slightly cloudy eyes.

"Kairi?" I asked, still not believing my senses.

"You know me?" she asked, her voice sounding groggy. I looked at her in confusion.

"Of course I know you! Why wouldn't I? We live together!" She blinked at me, looking a little confused herself.

"We do?" she asked, dumbfounded. "Then why am I here?" I was extremely confused.

"You're father has been in jail for almost a year now," I told her. "You were in a car accident." She blinked, looking stupefied.

"I was?" she grumbled questioningly, closing her eyes. "I…… don't remember." She opened her eyes and looked up at me. "Who are you anyway?" she asked. I could feel a pain in my chest, but I tried not to let it show.

"I'm Naruto," I said softly. "Rina adopted you into our family right before summer started." Kairi closed her eyes again, looking frustrated.

"I don't remember shit! I want to go to sleep!" I looked at her with sad eyes and nodded. I was about to turn and leave. "Wait!" I stopped and turned back around. "Aren't you even going to say goodnight?" I smiled and chuckled slightly. I could tell that she wasn't fully aware of what was going on.

"Goodnight Kairi," I told her softly. She smiled sleepily and closed her eyes.

"I like you," she said softly. I had to strain to hear the rest of what she said. "Your hair looks like a pineapple. I like pineapples." I snickered at her.

"I'll come and visit you tomorrow," I told her. She just nodded sleepily, keeping her eyes shut. "And I'll bring your boyfriend too."

I went out and let the doctors know that she was awake and was just talking to me. I pulled one of the doctors aside and proceeded in asking him a few questions.

"She doesn't remember anything," I told him. The doctor frowned and nodded.

"That can be understandable," he told me. I frowned at him, waiting for him to continue. "Due to the injury she received to the head, she may be experiencing retrograde amnesia."

"Would you mind explaining that in terms that I can understand?" The doctor sighed, but nodded.

"Retrograde amnesia is when the victim is unable to recall events that occurred before the accident had taken place. She will have trouble remembering anything that occurred close to the accident."

"But she doesn't remember me at all! We've been siblings for over 6 months!"

"Sometimes is greater than others."

"And she doesn't remember Gaara either, and they've been together for almost a year now!"

"I'm sorry, but it's different in each patient." I sighed in frustration.

"Will she ever regain any of her memory at all?" I asked. He shrugged.

"She might recall things, but I can't say anything for certain. Next time you see her, you could try bringing things to jog her memory. If it doesn't help jog her memory, at least she'll be able to see that you really do know her. I'll try explaining everything to her, but I can't assure you that she'll take it well." I nodded sadly.

"Thank you for your help."

"If this helps, it could also just be a side effect of the drugs she has been given. It may not be as bad as it seems." I nodded again and left.

**oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo**

I knocked I Gaara's door, and was greeted by his older sister.

"Hey Naruto!" she chirped. I forced a smile on my face and asked to speak to Gaara. "Come on in!" I thanked her and walked entered their home. I was then met by the other two Sabaku siblings.

"What's up Naruto?!" Kankurou asked happily.

"I have some news about Kairi," I told them. Everyone stared at me, which kind of made me nervous. "The good news is that Kairi woke up last night." Everyone looked relieved. "The bad news is that she suffered some memory loss. She didn't even remember who I was." Everyone's face began to take on a sad expression.

"I'm so sorry Naruto," Temari apologized, sadness in her eyes. I sighed and nodded sadly. I looked at Gaara and saw worry in his eyes. I didn't like seeing him like that.

"I'm about to go visit her," I told them. "I'm not sure if she will be awake, but I'm going to see her anyways."

"We want a full report when you get back," Kankurou said. I smiled and nodded.

"Want to come with me Gaara?" I asked, looking at my red-haired friend.

"I want you back at 4," she told him. Gaara nodded and the two of his walked out of the door.

**ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo**

When we got there, Kairi was out cold. I was relieved to find that some of the machines had been taken off of her. I could see that Gaara was a bit relieved as well.

After about an hour, a nurse came in two give Kairi some more medicine. She smiled at us when she finished and walked over to where we were sitting.

"Kairi was wondering where you were this morning pineapple-hair boy," she giggled. My eyes widened.

"Really?" She nodded.

"She won't be fully conscious for awhile. We're going to be weaning her off the medication for the next couple of days. If you come back on Christmas Day, she should be fully conscious." I nodded.

"I just want to be with her," I told her. She grinned and nodded.

"I don't know if it was the medication or not, but she has a very colorful vocabulary." Gaara and I smirked. That was definitely not the medication. Kairi had developed a very colorful vocabulary lately. Luckily, she doesn't really use it except for when……. Well, when it's that time of the month.

When the nurse left, Gaara and I stayed where we were until the clock read 3:30. That is when we got up and left.

I came back later that night, and I was surprised at what I found. Kairi wasn't in her bed. I was worried at first, but I found her lying on the other side of her bed, on the floor. She was barely awake, but was still conscious.

"Pineapple head," she giggled. I sighed and rolled my eyes at her.

"What are you doing on the floor?" I asked her.

"I really don't know," she answered. I shook my head at her in disappointment. I knelt down beside her and scooped her up in my arms. I laid her back down in her bed and pulled the covers back over her.

"I like you pineapple head," she whispered.

"I like you to," I answered, smirking at her. "And my name is Naruto."

"And my name is Kairi." I sighed in frustration. It was pointless talking to her in this state.

"You missed Gaara," I told her.

"Who's he?"

"Your boyfriend?"

"I have a boyfriend! Cool!" I nodded and petted her head.

"I've got to go, but I'll be back tomorrow morning." She grinned and nodded. "And I'll bring your boyfriend too."

**XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO**

_**Kairi's POV**_

My head has been killing me. For the past couple of days, they have been friggin' drugging me. Today, I was actually sane enough to see what was going on. I wouldn't let them give me any more drugs. I basically had to fight them off. After awhile, they gave up, which was what I wanted in the first place.

I was waiting for my pineapple haired visitor and that red-headed one as well. I can't remember their names, and I don't really know who they are. I just know that they have been coming to visit me just about everyday that I can remember. The nurse told me that the blonde was my brother. They didn't really know my relations with the red-haired boy. They also told me that I was suffering from memory loss, which was most likely caused from the car accident that I was in.

**ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo**

I was lying in my bed with my eyes closed when I heard a knock on my door. I slowly opened my eyes as 2 people entered the room. I smiled sheepishly, and rolled my head over to look at them. They both pulled chairs up and sat next to my bed.

"I was expecting you pineapple head," I said softly. It hurt to talk loud, so I didn't. He grinned and nodded.

"And I brought Gaara along too," he replied happily, "Just like I said would." I nodded slightly. I didn't remember, but I didn't need to tell him that.

"Nice to see you Gaara," I said with a smile. "What is your name again blondie?" Naruto frowned, looking rather upset. "I'm sorry." I apologized. He smiled and nodded.

"It's Naruto." I smiled.

"I'm glad you came today Naruto. I've been fighting off all the nurses just so that I would be able to see you when you came." Naruto grinned at me and nodded. He then held out a shoe box for me.

"I brought you some stuff to help you remember," he told me with a smile. I smiled again and took the box. He helped me sit up and took a seat on the edge of the bed. I opened the box and took out the first thing. I looked at it with amusement.

"A suspension slip?" I asked. I saw Gaara and Naruto smirk.

"You probably won't remember this, since it happened very recently," Naruto explained. "You got suspended for shoving this ass-hole Deidara into the lockers and threatening to break his arm." He snickered while he said this story.

"You saw this happen?" I asked. The two of them shook their heads.

"We had been stuffed in a locker," Gaara said, his voice in a monotone. I liked the way his voice sounded. It was nice and soft, and it had a nice tone to it.

"Which is why you threatened to kick his ass," Naruto finished. I smiled and nodded.

"I don't remember," I said quietly, "But it kind of sounds like something I would do." I put the slip aside and pulled out a family picture. It had Naruto, some woman I didn't recognize, and myself.

"Who is the woman?" I asked.

"That's our adopted mother, Rina," Naruto told me with a smile.

"She looks nice." I put that aside and pulled another one out. This one was of Gaara, a slightly older male and female, and me. "Who are they?" I asked Gaara, showing him the picture.

"My older brother, Kankurou, and my older sister Temari," he said softly. "We fostered you before you were adopted my Naruto and Rina."

I looked through more of the stuff, until Naruto looked at his watch and noticed that he had to leave. He told me that he would be back soon, then left me here with Gaara.

I put the box aside and looked at him. He stared right back at me.

"What relationship did I have with you again?" I asked, tilting my head to the side. I watched in curiosity as Gaara's cheeks started to turn a light shade of red.

"We……. Were kind of…….. boyfriend and girlfriend." I could feel my cheeks turning red.

"Oh!" I gasped. Gaara looked down at the ground, sadness in his eyes. I wanted to remember something. The only thing that came was this sick feeling in my stomach. It wasn't a bad sick. It was kind of a good, sick feeling, if that makes any sense.

"I really want to remember," I told him softly, "But nothing is coming to me."

"It's alright," he sighed. "I kind of expected that something would end up happening."

"Now that's not fair!" I exclaimed. "Are you saying that we can't be friends?" Gaara looked up at me in shock, shaking his head.

"You still want to?" I smiled and nodded. I couldn't believe that I had been dating him! He seemed so different, but in a good way. After all, I hated people who lack originality. And on top of all that, he was way hot!

"I'd also like to….. re-meet, your siblings." He nodded and I handed the box to him. "Will you give this to Naruto for me? I don't want to end up losing it." Gaara nodded again and took the box.

"I had better go," he finally said. I nodded. "I'll see you later, okay?"

"I can't wait!" He gave me a weak smile and left. I could tell that he was a bit disappointed. Why did my memory have to leave me? Maybe there's a way for me to get it back? I don't know, but I want it back severely. It seems like I have a new and wonderful life, yet I can't remember any of it. Maybe with their help, it will come back.

**XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO**

_**Well, what do you all think? Is it too much? Anyway, I have to dedicate this chapter to my friend Andy. It was really hard to write this chapter, especially the beginning, without crying. A little over a year ago, a friend of mine was killed in a car crash similar to the one in this story. RIP Andy!**_

_**Please let me know what you thought about this chapter. Should I keep it up, or should I scrap it? PLEASE REVIEW AND LET ME KNOW! **_

_**THANKS TO ALL THESE REVIEWERS!**_

_**Hibiki-chan – **__The only reason that I partially like Deidara is because he almost killed Sasuke. I will never forgive him for what he did to Gaara though. I hope that this was a fast enough update:) Yeah, I love the mud. I love it when there are these giant mud puddle that you go sliding into. My mom would kill me as well._

_**What About Today – **__Yes, they got into a car crash! And now look at what happened. Don't worry. I took your warning into account and I didn't kill her._

_**AND THANK YOU TO ANY OTHER PEOPLE I MAY HAVE LEFT OUT! PLEASE CONTINUE REVIEWING, ESPECIALLY WITH THIS CHAPTER! THANK YOU ALL!!! REVIEW!!!!**_


	15. Chapter 15

**CHAPTER 15**

_**Gaara's POV**_

It has been 6 months since the car accident. Kairi has been seeing a psychologist 2 days a week. She has apparently recovered a lot of her memory. She hasn't been able to remember everything to its fullest, but she has been able to remember bits and pieces of big events that had happened. I'm not really sure what those are though.

Kairi and I are just friends, even though I still have stronger emotions for her. I'm not sure if she feels the same way or not. I've just decided not to bring it up. I didn't want to somehow upset, especially after everything that she has been through.

Kairi and I haven't been hanging our as much as we had before the accident. I kind of wished that it weren't that way, but I've been alone for so long that I'm able to just ignore it. At least we still hang out on the weekends. That's better than nothing.

**oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo**

I sat out in the back yard. It was raining heavily, but I didn't care. I liked the rain, and my siblings weren't here to holler at me.

I sat on the wet concrete, holding my knees to my chest. I let the rain hit me. My hair was matted on my head, some of it hanging over my eyes. I was soaked to the bone and my clothes were sticking to my skin. I was even starting to shiver from the cold, but I didn't move from where I was.

I smirked to myself as a certain memory appeared in my thoughts. I closed my eyes, trying to picture it in my mind.

**Xx FLASHBACK xX**

_It was April. Kairi and I were walking home from school in the rain. I walked calmly down the sidewalk calmly as Kairi skipped ahead of me._

_"I love the rain!" I heard her sing as she disappeared around the bend._

_I followed her at a slower pace. I wasn't really in a hurry to get home. I was just trying to enjoy my walk home._

_Just as I turned the corner, Kairi jumped out in front of me and in a puddle. The water splashed onto me, getting my jeans even wetter, if that was even possible._

_I glared at her and she just stood there laughing._

_"You know what I love the most about the rain?" she asked, still giggling. I sighed and shook my head. "PUDDLE JUMPING!!" she exclaimed happily, jumping in the puddle again. I walked past her and her puddle, continuing my walk home. Kairi followed me, jumping in all the puddles along the way._

_"What's so fun about jumping in puddles?" I asked her as we approached her street. She shrugged._

_"I don't know," she told me; "I just like doing it. Maybe you should try it! Who knows? You might actually like it!" I frowned at her and shook my head. She gave me a sad puppy dog face, begging me to try._

_After about a minute or so of begging, I gave up._

_"Fine!" I sighed. Kairi's face instantly lit up. She took me by the arm and drug me over to a large puddle._

_"I'll hold your hand if your scared," she said with a smirk. I smirked at her as well and shook her head._

_"No, I think I can accomplish this on my own," I told her. She grinned and motioned for me to go on. I sighed and jumped, making a splash. "Wee," I said, my voice dripping in sarcasm. I smirked at her as she rolled her eyes at me, and walked through the puddle She squealed when I jumped again, splashing her._

_"Gaara!" she shrieked._

_"Now I see why you find it so much fun," I told her with a smirk._

_"I told you!" she laughed._

_**Xx END OF FLASHBACK xX**_

I sighed to myself, hugging my knees tighter. Not everything between Kairi and me were bad. She is still my closest friend, and I'm very thankful for that. Things could always be worse. Even though Kairi doesn't remember the relationship the two of us had, she is still the same Kairi she has always been.

"You're going to get sick if you stay out here too long," someone told me. I looked over my shoulder and saw that Kairi was standing there. I shrugged my shoulders at her. "Look at you! You're shivering!"

"I don't care," I answered coldly. Kairi sighed and sat down next to me. "Do any puddle jumping?" I asked, smirking to myself. Kairi giggled and nodded.

"You know it! Naruto came home earlier covered in mud. Rina got so mad at him. It was hilarious!" I nodded and laid my chin on my knees. "Is something wrong Gaara?" she asked, concern in her voice. I shook my head.

"What brings you here?" I asked softly.

"I needed to talk to you about something." I looked up at her, wiping my bangs out of eyes. I slowly stood up; Kairi standing up as well.

"I'm listening," I told her, looking down into her bright blue eyes. She took in a deep breath, and let it out.

"Do you love me?" My body went tense and I just stared at her blankly. I didn't know what to say. I did love her, like I have for the longest time. But how did I say it? I haven't said those words in the longest time.

All these things were going through my head. I shut my eyes, trying to sort everything out. Why did she have to ask this question, especially right now? I just couldn't find the words. I know how I really felt, but I just couldn't say it for some reason.

My eyes flew open when eye felt her lips press against mine. I was surprised, which gave Kairi the wrong idea. She pulled away, her cheeks a deep shade of red.

"I'm sorry," she apologized, turning to leave. Without thinking, I grabbed her by the wrist. She stopped, slowly turning around to face me. I slowly went up to her, and looked down into her glistening blue eyes. I cupped her cheek in my hand and gently pressed my lips against hers. She kissed me back, slowly closing her eyes. I snaked an arm around her waist, pulling her shaking form close to my own.

We stayed there for a few moments, letting the rain pelt down on our already soaked bodies. She eventually pulled away, taking in a shaky breath.

"I-I-I'm r-r-really c-cold," she stammered, her lip quivering from the cold. I nodded. I was cold as well. I took her hand and led her inside.

Once inside, I gave her some p.j.s that she had left here the last time she stayed over. She thanked me and got changed in the bathroom, while I got changed in my room.

I opened my door, just in time to see Kairi come out of the bathroom in dry clothes. Both of us were still shivering uncontrollably, bringing a smirk to both of our faces.

I took her hand and led her over to my bed. We crawled under the covers, trying to get warm again. Kairi snuggled in close and I wrapped an arm around her, pulling her in closer.

"I really hope Naruto doesn't come in," she giggled. I smirked.

"You remember that?" I asked. She nodded.

"It was one of the first things I remembered. Who wouldn't remember being accused of having sex at the age of 16?"

"What else do you remember?" She sighed, closing her eyes.

"I remember you," she said softly. "You were always there for me, and I was happy around you. You are still here for me, and I'm still happy around you." I kissed her forehead, making her giggle.

It has been so long since we have been this close. It had been so long since I felt her lips against my own, that I almost forgot what it was like. When we were kissing, I never wanted it to end. I never want us to end. I have never loved someone the way that I loved Kairi, and I could safely say that she feels the same way about me.

**XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO**

_**Alright, I did some research about amnesia and asked my AP psych. teacher about it. Kairi probably wouldn't have regained as much memory as she did and at the speed she did, but oh well. I did learn, however, that the things in your long term memory have a more personal meaning will stick better. Also, she met Gaara quite a bit before the car accident, so not all of her memory would be gone. Some would just be remembered better than other things.**_

_**I love those old fashioned, kissing in the rain scenes. I think that it is so romantic, and so hot! Lol!**_

_**Anyway, I'm so sleepy! yawns I haven't gotten much sleep in the last 3 days, and it's affecting my ability to think right. Anyways, I need to thank some people before I fall asleep.**_

_**Demona013 – **__thanks. I hope this makes you happy again._

_**Sarimia – **__I didn't intend Itachi to be blamed, but I don't like him either so that's okay._

_**slack-jawed-cheese-hugger – **__yeah, I kind of felt bad too. But look, their back together again!_

_**NeferNeferi – **__I'm glad you think I do well in first POV. I personally never really thought that I did very well, which is one of the reasons that I am writing it in first person. I wanted to improve. Anyway, what I was originally going to write for this chapter was going to be something where the fathers kind of teamed up and kidnapped Kairi and Gaara. But, when I read it, it reminded me too much of the TV series 24. lol. I might put it up just for laughs, but I'll probably end up becoming too lazy._

_**Hibiki-chan – **__she has it back! Yay!!!_

_**What About Today – **__You're welcome. I didn't want her to become another Hana. Lol . I was actually eating hershy kissed while I was typing this up. It helped a little bit, but I'm easy to make cry. Even if it didn't have so relevance to my friend, I probably would have cried. And I didn't cry near as much as I did when I was typing "Nothing Good Lasts." I was really nervous about having to read that to the class because I thought I would start crying. Luckily, I didn't! And I got an A! WOOT!_

_**Kita Kudai – **__I know, isn't that weird how that works. I'm reading this book for English called "Tuesdays with Morrie". It's a very good book, but it's kind of sad since it's all based off of death and suffering and how it brings you closer to people._

_**Ikka-bikka-boo – **__I think we all would, especially if we were in Kairi's position._

_**Thank you all so much! Please keep reviewing. They make me so happy and they encourage me to type, even when my wrist starts going numb, which happens a lot now. PLEASE REVIEW! THANKS!**_


	16. Chapter 16

**CHAPTER 16**

_**Kairi's POV**_

I warned Gaara that he was going to end up getting sick. It is 3 days later and he's stuck in bed. Kankurou and Temari have to work, so they asked me if I could take care of Gaara while they were gone. Of course, I said that I would.

**ooooooooooooooo**

I stuck my spare key into the lock of the door and turned it, which unlocked the door. I went in and took my shoes off by the door. I had no idea how sick Gaara was, and his siblings didn't either. They just told me that he wasn't feeling well and wanted me to stop by and check up on him.

I quietly walked up the stairs, not wanting to wake Gaara up if he was sleeping. As I reached the top of the staircase, I heard a retching sound coming from the bathroom. I stood at the door and knocked.

"Are you in there Gaara?" I asked, loudly. I heard the sound of the toilet flushing and then the door slowly opened. Gaara stood there, using the door frame for support.

"What are you doing here?" he asked weakly. I frowned at him, realizing that he was pretty sick. He was extremely pale and looked as if he were barely able to stand.

"Your siblings wanted me to come over to check up on you," I told him softly. "Are you alright?" He slowly shook his head at me.

"Could you get me a glass of water?" I nodded and quickly went back downstairs into the kitchen.

When I was coming back upstairs, I heard the sound of him throwing up again. I waited outside the door for him, waiting for him to come out again. After about 5 minutes, he opened the door. I gave him the glass and he thanked me. He took a sip of water and swished it around in his mouth, before spitting it back out into the sink.

"Did that help at all?" I asked, putting a gentle hand on his shoulder. He nodded slightly, supporting himself with by holding on to the sink. "Come on, let's get you back in bed." I put his arm over my shoulder and helped him walk back to his room. I laid him down in his bed and tucked the covers underneath his chin.

"I'm going to go and get a thermometer," I told him as I exited the room. I found it in the towel closet, inside of the first aid kit. I went back over to Gaara and stuck the thermometer in his mouth. "Keep it under your tongue." He slowly nodded and closed his eyes.

After about 60 seconds, I took the thermometer out of his mouth and took a look at the readings.

"101.9," I said out loud. I frowned and put my hand on his forehead, sighing as I did so. "You poor thing," I cooed, running my fingers through his hair. "Do you need anything else?" I asked. He slowly shook his head, not bothering to open his eyes.

"Just sleep," he whispered. I smiled and nodded.

"I'll be down stairs if you need me." He nodded and I left him so he could sleep.

**oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo**

I went back upstairs to check on him right before a left to go to jujitsu practice. He was still asleep, and I didn't want to disturb him. I left him a note, saying that I would be back around 5, and that his siblings would be home either shortly before or shortly after I did. I wasn't sure if he would be awake anytime soon, but I wanted him to be aware of my location if he did happen to wake up.

I returned at 5:30, and neither of his siblings were home yet. I guessed that they were busy at work today or something. I wasn't really sure.

I went upstairs and was shocked to find that Gaara had collapsed in the middle of the hallway. I knelt beside him and carefully rolled him over onto his back. I gently shook him until he started coming to.

"Are you alright?" I asked. Gaara blinked a couple times, before looking away from me.

"No," he said bluntly. I sighed and rolled my eyes at him.

"What I mean is, are you hurt?" He slowly shook his head. I pulled him back up onto his feet and helped him to his room. I helped him climb back into bed and sat down on the edge of the bed next to him.

"Are Temari and Kankurou home yet?" he asked weakly. I shook my head.

"Not yet. When did you wake up?" Gaara shrugged.

"Half an hour ago, or something like that."

I picked the thermometer up from his bedside table and told him to keep it under his tongue. When I read it this time, it said that he had a fever of 102.5.

"I hate being sick," he grumbled. I smirked at him and nodded.

"Maybe next time, you won't sit out in the rain for so long," I snickered. He smirked at me for a few moments, but it quickly disappeared.

"Gaara! Kairi! We're home!" Temari yelled from the bottom of the steps. I looked down at Gaara and smiled.

"I had better be going then," I told him. He nodded. I ruffled his hair before getting up. "I'll be coming over again tomorrow, so I'll see you tomorrow.

**oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo**

"Do you know what is wrong with him?" I asked. Temari shook her head sadly.

"I'm thinking that he might have the flu," she said in uncertainty. I nodded sadly. "I really appreciate you coming down to help us out with Gaara. It's really difficult to take off of work, especially when Kankurou and I need the money to help pay off for college."

"It's no problem," I assured her. "I love coming over to visit Gaara. Now I have a good reason to spend more time here." Temari grinned and gave me a quick hug.

"I' so happy that you and my baby brother got back together!" she squealed before walking out the front door. Once she was gone, I went upstairs and found Gaara lying in bed.

"Are you feeling any better?" I asked. Gaara rolled his head to the side, looking at me through tired eyes. He slowly shook his head.

I went over and sat down on the edge of the bed. I put a gentle hand on his forehead, leaving it there for a couple of minutes before pulling it away.

"I'm glad you're here," he told me, his speech slurred and kind of hard to understand.

"Of course! I wouldn't just leave you here to suffer all by yourself!" I ran my fingers through his hair, smiling at him. Gaara closed his eyes and sighed deeply. "When was the last time Temari took your temperature?" I asked softly, still running my fingers through his hair.

"An hour ago," he grumbled.

"Have you been able to keep anything down?" Gaara shook his head.

"Not even water." I frowned and shook my head at him sadly.

"You should try to take a small sip every now and then." Gaara nodded slightly. "I'm going downstairs for a little while. I'll be back up to check on you later."

**ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo**

I went back upstairs a couple of hours later with a small glass of water and a thermometer.

I sat down on the edge of his bed, setting the glass down on the nightstand as I did so. I looked down at him with sad eyes. His face was glistening with sweat and his hair was slightly damp.

I brushed the back of my hand against his cheek. He stirred a little beneath his covers, groaning to himself.

"I need to take your temperature," I told him softly. He slightly opened his mouth and I stuck the thermometer under his tongue. He shut his mouth and I held the thermometer in place.

After a couple of minutes, I took it out of his mouth and read it. I was kind of worried when I saw that it read 103.2. If it got any higher, we would need to take him to the hospital. I set the thermometer aside and slid a hand under Gaara's back.

"I need you to sit up," I told him softly. I helped him sit up, letting him in lean up against me. I picked up the glass of water and held the glass to his lips.

"Just take a small sip." He swallowed the water and turned his head away. I pulled the glass away and set it on the bed side table. I then helped him lay back down.

"I'll come back upstairs and check on you again in another hour." Gaara nodded as I pulled the covers up to his chin.

Like I told him, I came back up an hour later. This time, I brought some medication with me. Gaara was awake when I came into his room. He watched me through sick eyes as I walked over to his bed and took as seat on the edge. I pulled back the sheets a little bit and helped him sit up.

Gaara watched as I poured the red, liquid medicine into a small medicine cup. He turned his head as I brought it to his lips.

"Please don't be difficult," I told him, annoyance in my voice. Gaara closed his lips together tightly, shutting his eyes as he did so. "You need to take this if you want to get better anytime soon." This didn't seem to convince him. He was being so childish!

I sighed, trying to think of something that will convince him. I could have just forced it down his throat, but that doesn't always work well, and he would be pissed off at me for a long time afterwards. Maybe if I gave him some motivation to try and get better soon.

"This will help lower your temperature," I explained. "If we can't get it lowered, we'll have to leave you in the hospital's clutches." Gaara slowly opened his eyes, looking at me through his peripheral vision. I smirked at him, another thought coming into my head. "The sooner that you get better, the sooner we can start hanging out like we normally did. You know, with more intimacy and stuff." That got his full attention.

He slowly turned his head back towards me and sighed. I gave him the little cup and watched as he slowly brought it to his lips. He quickly swallowed the disgusting medicine, shuddering as it slid down his throat. I took the medicine cup from him and handed him the glass of water that was sitting on the nightstand. He took a swallow of water, swishing it around in his mouth before swallowing the water. He set the glass back down and leaned up against me. I gently laid him back down and pulled the covers up to his chest. I got up and quickly left.

I went into the bathroom and got out a clean wash cloth, wetting it with cold water. I rung it out and went back into Gaara's bedroom. I sat back down on the bed, holding the cloth in my hand. I put the cloth to his hot, sweaty face. I watched as Gaara closed his eyes and sighed in slight relief. I wiped down his whole face and his neck, trying to cool him down a little bit.

"Does that feel better," I asked, leaving the rag on his forehead. He nodded slightly, so that he wouldn't make the rag fall. "I'll be back soon. Get some sleep and give the medicine some time to start working."

**oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo**

Gaara has been sick for nearly 4 days now. I know Gaara is strong, but I can't help but feel sorry for him. For one, he was sweating like crazy but he feels as if he were freezing. I was over looking after him again yesterday and we had to cover him with 2 extra blankets, just to get him to stop shivering. At the same time, his body was sweating profusely.

We have only been able to give him water. His body can't really take anything else. We tried giving him some crackers today, but he ended up bringing those up as well. He hasn't eaten anything in over 3 days, so we're getting kind of worried. The only positive thing that has really happened is that we have been able to get his fever down to about 100.

Also, today he only needed one extra blanket in order to stay warm. Whenever I'm around him, I do my best to hide my worry. He's too out of it to notice anyway, but I do it because I know that he would have done the same for me.

**ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo**

It is day 6, and Gaara is finally a bit better. He's still a bit out of it, and has a bit of a temperature. It's nowhere as bad as it has been though. I had no idea how he was yesterday, because Rina made me stay home. Temari and Kankurou didn't have to work at the same times, so at least one of them would be there to take care of him.

"Try and see if he can eat something," Temari told me as she put her hair up into her four ponytails. "There are some crackers out on the counter in the kitchen. Just give him a couple and see if he can keep them down. He wasn't able to yesterday, so I'll understand if he refuses."

"Is that all?" I asked, following Temari out of her room.

"He needs to take a shower today," she told me with a smirk. I felt my face turning red. "You should enjoy that. You don't have to stand there and watch him or anything. Just have him toss on his bathing suit, just in case." I nodded and she chuckled at me. "I'll be back around 7 or so." I nodded, and watched her walk out the door.

I walked into Gaara's room, happy to see him sitting up in bed.

"Feeling better?" I asked, walking over to him. He nodded.

"Better than a couple of days ago," he grumbled. I nodded and gave him a weak smile. I went over to his dresser and opened his top drawer. He raised an eyebrow as he watched me dig through his dresser drawer.

I pulled out a pair of swim trunks and threw them at him. He picked them up, staring at them for a moment looking back up at me with a questioning look on his face.

"What are these for?" he asked.

"You're taking a shower," I told him. My lips curled into a smirk when I saw his cheeks redden slightly. "Those are just for precautionary reasons. No arguing, because Temari is right. You really do need one." He sighed and nodded.

He slowly stood up, only to fall back onto the bed. I sighed and held out a hand. He looked at it for a couple seconds before taking it. Once he was stable, I let go of him and walked with him to the bathroom. I got him out a clean towel and a washrag, knowing where they were since I spent a lot of time there.

"While you're taking your shower, I need to go downstairs and make a phone call," I told him. "Naruto is hanging out at our house with Hinata, and they don't have any adult supervision. I need to call, and make sure that they aren't doing anything they shouldn't be. I trust Hinata, but Naruto can go a little bit over board." I giggled when I saw Gaara blush again. "It's not as bad as it sounds." He slowly nodded and went into the bathroom. I waited until I heard the sound of the running water before heading downstairs.

After I talked to a babbling Naruto for about 25 minutes, I headed back upstairs. The bathroom door was open and was empty. I went over to his bedroom and knocked on the door. I waited until he answered it a couple of minutes later. He was wearing a clean pair of black sweat pants. He wasn't wearing a shirt and was drying his hair with the towel. I smiled sheepishly at him.

"Just wanted to make sure you were alright," I told him. He nodded, and motioned for me to come in. I obediently followed him inside, and watched him put on a maroon t-shirt.

"Do you want to try and eat something?" I asked. He stared at me for a moment before nodding.

The two of us walked downstairs, Gaara holding onto my shoulder for support. We made our way to the kitchen and he took a seat at the table. I went over to the kitchen counter and took out a few crackers. I put them on a small plate and set them in front of Gaara.

"Will you sit with me?" he asked, looking up at me with hopeful eyes. I smiled and nodded.

"Do you want something to drink first?"

"Water," he replied softly. I opened the cupboard and pulled out a small glass and filled it with cold water. I set in front of Gaara and sat down in the chair next to him.

I watched him as he nibbled on his crackers. He looked at me and I guess he saw me smirking to myself.

"What's so funny?" I giggled and shook my head.

"It's nothing," I told him. He narrowed his eyes.

"Tell me," he pressed. I sighed, but followed that up with more giggling.

"Okay, I'll tell you. I was just thinking that you reminded me of a hamster, or a mouse." He glared at me, taking another bite out of his cracker, which made me burst out laughing. I stopped laughing when he threw the cracker at me, hitting me in the head. I stared at him, seeing that he was smirking.

"What are you smirking at hamster boy," I teased. He rolled his eyes at me and continued eating a second cracker.

"Thank you for everything," he said softly. I smiled at him and nodded.

"I'm just repaying you for everything that you have done for me," I told him. He smiled at me slightly and nodded as well.

**XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO**

_**Sorry about not updating yesterday. I have been trying to update once a day, but school has been starting to catch up with me again. As hard as it is for me to stop typing, since I love writing so much, I must. I'm not going to stop completely, but I have to reduce how much I type each day. The tendons in my right hand have been getting really stressed out lately and are starting to inflame again. This means that I will be posting less often. But for those of you who haven't figured it out yet, me not posting as often means like me posting a chapter every other day, or every two days.**_

_**I'm starting to run low on ideas again, so that might take me a little longer as well. I use a lot of my own personal experiences to write, or stuff that I see, or hear, and what not. Something will come to me eventually. Until then, I will be basically be just writing randomness.**_

_**On to the thank yous!**_

_**Demona013 – **__oh yeah! 99.9 is better than 0. thanks for reviewing!_

_**Sarahboden – **__thank you so much! I feel so special._

_**What About Today – **__a bit dramatic aren't we? Lol. That's okay. I love being overly dramatic, especially when you get people to stare at you with funny faces. Lol. Thanks ever so much for the review. It means the world to me._

_**NeferNeferi – **__it would be cute! Thanks for reviewing._

_**Hibiki-chan – **__I know it is. I should have made steam coming off their bodies. That would have been sweet! Thanks for reviewing._

_**Okay, I had better stop typing now, because I'm starting to get this tingling feeling around my wrist. I'll type a little more tomorrow and I'll try and update on Saturday if I don't have any homework. PLEASE REVIEW!!! YOU KNOW YOU WANT TO AND WHO KNOWS, I MIGHT UPDATE TOMORROW AFTER SCHOOL IF I GET ENOUGH OF THEM!**_


	17. Chapter 17

**CHAPTER 17**

_**Gaara's PO**_

Kairi was sitting down on my bed with one of her shirt sleeves rolled up. I sat beside her, concentration on what I was drawing on her arm. Kairi had gotten these tattoo marker pens and wanted me to draw something on her shoulder for her. She would have done it elsewhere, but she wanted it make it noticeable. She wanted to see how Naruto would react. We both knew that he would totally flip out, Kairi wanted to see the look on his face.

"Done," I sighed about 20 minutes later. Kairi smiled and got up, walking over to the mirror. She smiled at the blue and red dragon that was on her skin.

"You draw the best dragons," she complimented. I thanked her, while putting the cap on the marker. She walked back over to me, flashing her new 'tattoo' in my face. "What do you think?" she asked playfully. I smirked, grabbing her by the arm and pulling her off balance. She fell onto the bed, giggling of course.

"How come school is always starting up again, not long after it had ended?" I shrugged, looking up at the ceiling. "I can't believe we're going to be seniors!" she sighed happily.

"I know."

"I'm going to make the most out of my last year at school, and I suggest that you do the same." I nodded.

"What do you have in mind?" I asked raising an eyebrow. Kairi sighed before looking at me with a grin on her face.

"I want to go to homecoming and prom with you." I gave her a confused look.

"Why?"

"Why not?" I sighed.

"Good point. Still, I'm only going to one or the other. You can't make me go to both."

"Fine," she sighed, frowning at me. "Let's go to homecoming then. I don't have the stupid cash for prom, and Rina doesn't like prom either."

"Why not?"

"Apparently, her nephew died from a drunk driver on prom night. It's kind of a long story." I nodded.

"What's going to happen to us after high school?" I asked, a little nervous about asking that question. Kairi sighed and thought for a moment.

"I don't know Gaara," she said softly. "I won't know until graduation gets closer, and I really don't want to think about it until I need to." I nodded. She was right. Worrying about it this early in the game would just cause excess stress. I kind of had the feeling that everything would work out the way they were supposed to.

**oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo**

It was the night of the homecoming dance. I also found out that the other reason she wanted to go to homecoming instead was because her birthday was the next day, so it also made it a little more special.

I was wearing all black and Temari made me put a comb through my hair. I don't really know how much it did, but at least I was able to get Temari off of my case. Temari has been acting like an overly excited mother. It has been driving me absolutely crazy.

I was in my room, putting Kairi's birthday present away. She would probably stay the night here, so that would give me the chance to give her the present either in the morning or tonight.

"Gaara, you're date is here!" Kankurou yelled from downstairs. I sighed and slowly exited my room and trudged down the steps. I froze completely when I saw her.

She was wearing a blood red, strapless dress that ended a couple of inches above her knees. The dress was silky and flowing. She wore high heels that were the same color. Her hair was let down, and had been straightened, giving it a pretty glow.

"Are you ready to go?" she asked, smirking at me. I slowly nodded and walked over to her.

"Let's go you two love birds," Kankurou chuckled shuffling us out of the door.

Kankurou dropped us off outside the school and told us to call him when we needed a ride home.

**XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO**

_**Kairi's POV**_

I had fun at the dance, although all Gaara did was hide in the corner of the gymnasium. He apparently wasn't into dancing, and didn't like dancing at all for that matter. I didn't care less.

On the last slow song, I grabbed him by the arm and drug him out onto the dance floor. Gaara gave me a questioning look and I smirked at him.

"We're dancing," I told him firmly, "Whether you like it or not. Just one song, and then we can leave." He sighed in aggravation, but nodded. I smiled, snaking my arms around his neck. He wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling me close. We swayed back and forth to the beat of the music, letting everything else around us disappear. I rested my head against his chest and he kissed in lightly.

**ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo**

Gaara led me upstairs and into his room. We had walked home, since Kankurou had called us during the dance and told us that he had to go out somewhere. We didn't really care. That just meant that we had some alone time before they got back.

Gaara shut the door behind us and locked it. He then turned around, focusing on me. I took my heels off and tossed the in the corner before Gaara came over and swept me off of my feet. I giggled and wrapped an arm around his neck. He sat me down on his bed and sat down beside me. He cupped my cheek in his hand and gently kissed me.

After a few minutes, we pulled away from each other. We gazed into the other's eyes, lust in both of our eyes. He pulled me in for another kiss. He licked my bottom lip, which made me smile. I opened my mouth slightly, accepting his tongue. I was immediately met with sparks dancing all over my taste buds as I melted into the kiss. My eyes slowly shut, letting my happiness swell up inside of me.

Gaara pulled away after a minute or so to catch his breath. He only had a few seconds to breathe before I put a hand behind his head, pulling him in for another kiss. This time, I was the one to slide my tongue in his mouth. He actually seemed kind of surprised, but he quickly got over it. I felt him wrap an arm around my waist, pulling me even closer to him.

After out little make-out session, Gaara got up and went over to his dresser drawer. He took something out and walked back over to the bed. He sat down and let a necklace dangle in front of my face. I gasped, my eyes widening. It was a silver dragon that was held by black leather. The dragon's tail was wrapped around a blue sodalite orb. It was beautiful. The orb almost looked like it was the earth itself.

"Gaara, you didn't have to get me anything!" I gasped, looking at him through teary eyes. He smirked and motioned for me to turn around so that he could put it on. I turned my back towards him and held my hair up while he hooked the neck lace in place. I looked down at it, as happy as could be. Gaara pulled me backwards, letting me lay against him.

"Thank you so much," I whispered, pulling him down and giving him a kiss on the lips. Gaara smirked and kissed my neck, slowly making his way to lips.

"Happy Birthday," he whispered into my ear.


	18. ATTENTION!

_**I really hate being the bearer of bad news, but I need to put word out. I am going to be discontinuing this story for the time being. This may be very upsetting to some of you, but when I went back and reread this, I realized that I kind of faded away from my original plotline. I'm really sorry. At some point in time, I will be rewriting this and will be giving this an extreme makeover. It will be kind of like a second attempt to capture what I originally wanted, and to add in some of my newer ideas.**_

_**Alright, that was a bit depressing, but maybe this will cheer a few of you up! I'm starting to write the sequel to "Letters From a Forgotten Friend"! It is going to be a long and tedious process, because I really don't have much of an idea of what I'm going to do. I do, however have the cutest opening chapter that I'm starting on! I'm super excited about it! I hope you all come and check it out! The name of the story is called "Letting in the Light". At least, that's what I'm going to call it for now. Later!!**_


	19. Chapter 19

**Kairi's POV**

Graduation was so exciting. The ceremony took forever, but it was well worth it. After everyone had received their diplomas, all the seniors threw their caps up into the air. Surprisingly, Gaara grabbed a hold of me and kissed me right on stage in front of everyone. I was a little embarrassed and all, but I more excited then anything. Naruto's face was extremely red, but I knew that he would rather it be Gaara than someone else. Naruto had gotten used to the fact that Gaara and I were going out, but he was still a bit over-protective.

Temari and Kankurou were extra surprised too. They knew that the two of us were going out and everything, but they had no idea that we were that intimate. I don't really no what they expected, but I wouldn't put it past them.

After the graduation ceremony, Gaara and I went for a walk through the park. There were a bunch of parties being thrown at different places, but neither of us wanted to go. We just wanted to be alone for awhile.

"What's going to happen to us now?" Gaara asked softly. I didn't really know what to tell him. What was I really supposed to say?

"I don't know Gaara," I sighed, stopping off to the side of the trail. I took hold of Gaara's hand and looked up into his eyes. "What do you want to happen?" Gaara closed his eyes and thought for a moment. He then opened his eyes and squeezed my hand a little bit tighter.

"I'm not sure what I want right now," he began, "But I know that I don't want to lose you." I smiled and nodded.

"I don't want to lose you either," I told him.

"You said that you were going to Konoha University, right?" Gaara asked. I nodded. "Well that definitely makes things easier." I laughed and he drew me close.

"How come you didn't tell me you were going there too?" Gaara shrugged and closed the space in between us. My eyelids slid shut as Gaara crushed his lips against mine. Smiling, I slowly pulled away from him. Eye opened my eyes and saw that he was giving me a confused look. I laughed and started walking ahead.

"We probably shouldn't be doing stuff like this in public," I told him as he caught up with me. He took my hand, intertwining his fingers with mine.

"Do I embarrass you?" Gaara asked randomly. I laughed again and shook my head.

"Of course you don't embarrass me Gaara," I assured him. "I get slightly uncomfortable when you're around other girls, but that's about it."

"Why would you get uncomfortable?" he asked, not really understanding.

"I don't know," I sighed. "I guess I'm just afraid that some bitch is going to take you away from me." His eyes widened in surprise, but softened when he saw that I was serious. He let go of my hand and wrapped an arm around me, pulling me a little closer to him.

"You don't have to worry about stupid things like that," he told me. "You're the only one that I want." I smiled and laid my head against his shoulder.

"I love you," I whispered.

"I love you too," he whispered back, placing a quick kiss on my forehead.

**XOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOX**

**XOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOX**

**1 YEAR LATER**

**Gaara's POV**

I was sitting in the library with my nose stuck in a textbook. I had a huge test the next day and I wanted to get some type of studying done. I had been in there for over 5 hours, reading the same textbook. My head was killing me and I was finding it hard to concentrate.

Sighing in frustration, I laid my head down on top of my book and covered my head with my arms. I needed to take a break.

Suddenly, I felt someone tracing a finger up my find. I gasped and quickly lifted my head up. I glared at Kairi, who was standing beside me and giggling.

"I thought you were supposed to be studying," she teased, keeping her voice low. I smirked and nodded.

"I needed to take a break," I told her. She grinned and closed my book. I frowned at her, but she didn't seem to care.

"You said that you needed a break," she said innocently, "And I haven't seen you all week. You've locked yourself in your dorm room and wouldn't come out for hardly anything. I've missed you." I was kind of surprised to hear all this. I didn't even realize that we haven't seen each other all week long. Sighing, I got up and picked up my book. Kairi grinned and led me out of the library.

"Are we going to your dorm or mine?" I asked.

"Your place," she told me. "My roommate is studying in her dorm and she doesn't like it when I bring people over." I nodded and the two of us started walking toward my dorm.

Once we were outside of my dorm, I dug into my pocket and pulled out my key. I unlocked the door and the Kairi and I went inside. Kairi plopped down on my bed and giggled. I put my book down on the desk and went over and lay down beside her. She smiled and snuggled close to my body. I put an arm around her and ran my hand up and down her back.

"How has your week been?" I asked her.

"Busy," she sighed, "Kind of like yours. Are you ready for that test tomorrow?" I sighed and shrugged.

"I'm not really sure. Not as ready as I would like to be." Kairi giggled.

"When is your roommate coming back?" she asked. "I don't want to freak him out like last time." I smirked, remembering how he walked in on Kairi and me making out. I don't think I've ever seen him blush that much. We didn't mean to embarrass him though.

"He shouldn't be back until later on tonight. He has a date, so I don't expect him to be back for quite some time." Kairi grinned and sat up. She looked down at me and slowly brought her lips to mine. I kissed her back and slipped an arm around her waist and pulled her on top of me. Smiled and crushed her lips against mine. As soon as she broke the kiss, I flipped her over so that she was on the bottom. I brought my lips to hers once again, putting a hand behind her head. I nipped at her bottom lip, making her giggle. She opened her mouth, accepting my tongue. I can't really recall all the details, or the feelings. It was all too complicated. I just knew that it felt right and that I never wanted to lose Kairi. I wanted her to always be with me. I wanted her to be mine. Every time our lips met, I knew that she was the only one for me. I had to make her mine.

* * *

**_Alright everyone. I know that it has been awhile but I wanted to post up a chapter. I also wanted to give you guys another IMPORTANT NOTICE. I have posted up another story callled "Make Me Whole". It is kind of to replace this one, because I kind of don't like this story anymore. This one is also a Highschool fic and it is AWESOME!! Please read it! It would make me sooooooo happy. If you don't read it, I will cry! I've worked so hard on it, and I really think it's going to go somewhere. It is going to be awhile before I post another chapter for this story, so I'll talk to you guys later. WOOT!! _**


	20. Chapter 20

Kairi's POV

_**Kairi's POV**_

So, Gaara and I have been attending Konoha University for almost 3 years now. We are both juniors and we have still been dating. I am so glad the two of were able to go to the same college. Having Gaara here makes it a lot more fun and he helps me the subjects that I seem to be having trouble with.

I've been kind of mean to him lately, but that's what he gets for throwing me into the pool while I was still in my clothes. It has been three days already and I haven't given him one kiss. Poor thing, but he started it. I would stop, but he's stubborn and refuses to apologize. That's okay though, because I can wait. I have no idea why he even threw me in the pool to begin with. I'm guessing it was just a small joke, but if that was the case, then he shouldn't be having any problems apologizing, right?

**XxOOOOOOOOOOOOOxX**

Gaara is such a stubborn ass. It has been over a week, and the conflict between us has only grown. Now, he won't even talk to me and has been avoiding me. What is his problem? I talked to Hinata today and she promised that she would try and talk to him for me and see what's going on.

_**The discussion….**_

_"Is everything alright?" Hinata asked me. I couldn't help but smile at her. She had been doing very well with not stuttering all the time and it always made me smile when I didn't hear her stutter. "Kairi, are you alright?" she asked again. I sighed and shook my head._

_"Not really," I told her. "Gaara has been acting like such an ass lately." Hinata raised an eyebrow._

_"Really? How so?"_

_"A little over a week ago, he decided that it would be funny to throw me into the pool while I'm still in my clothes. He wouldn't apologize for being so mean, so I told him that I wasn't going to kiss him until he said that he was sorry. Now, he won't talk to me and has been avoiding me." Hinata gave me a sympathetic look and patted my shoulder._

_"That sounds really strange, especially since it's happening between you and Gaara." I raised an eyebrow at her, kind of confused by what she meant. "I mean, you and Gaara are hardly ever fighting."_

_"I know," I sighed. "Maybe he just doesn't love me anymore." Hinata gave me a worried look._

_"Don't go assuming that yet!" she exclaimed. I smiled, thinking about how cute she sounded when she tried to sound super serious. Her voice is so soft, even when she tries so hard to be loud._

_"I can't help it Hinata."_

_"Well, before you go assuming that stuff, why don't I try to talk to him for you? We have the same class together tomorrow morning, so I can talk to him then and let you know later." I smiled and nodded._

_"Thank you Hinata. I would be most grateful." Hinata giggled and nodded._

**XxOOOOOOOOOOOOOxX**

**XxOOOOOOOOOOOOOxX**

**Gaara's POV**

My first class of the day had ended and I had an hour before my next class. On my way out of the building, I felt someone tugging on my arm. I turned around and gave a small smile when I saw Hinata. She smiled back, but there was a bit of nervousness that was evident from the way that she looked at me.

"What's up?" I asked.

"Can I talk to you for a minute?" she asked me. I nodded and she lead me off to the side of the building.

"What's on your mind?" I asked, leaning up against the building and crossing my arms over my chest.

"It's about Kairi," she began. I frowned upon hearing that.

"I really don't want to….."

"Gaara, you really need to shut up and just listen." I raised an eyebrow at her. I was actually surprised to hear the soft-spoken Hinata actually talk so firmly. I smirked at her and nodded.

"Alright, I'll listen." Hinata grinned at her success and took in a deep breath before continuing.

"First of all, I want to know what has been going on between you two."

"I'm not really sure what you are talking about," I told her, basically lying right through my teeth.

"I've already heard Kairi's side of the story. I just wanted to hear your side before saying anything, just to make sure that I've got everything straight." I sighed.

"It's nothing really. We're just having a small fight it's no big deal."

"It may not be for you, but it is for Kairi. She thinks that you hate her." My eyes widened upon hearing this.

"Why would she think that?" I asked, obviously surprised by this.

"I don't know. Maybe it's the fact that you have been avoiding her for the last week." I looked down at the ground, feeling rather stupid.

"I didn't mean for her to get upset, and I didn't mean to avoid her for so long."

"Why are you even avoiding her? What did she do?" I looked around us, making sure that Kairi or any of her friends were around. I looked back at Hinata as soon as I was satisfied with our privacy.

"I'll tell you, but you can't tell Kairi." Hinata gave me a weird look. "Actually, will you walk with me to my dorm room? It's not that far away, and there's something I want to show you." Hinata sighed, but nodded.

We walked into my dorm room and I quickly shut and locked the door behind us. I could tell that Hinata was kind of uncomfortable about this, but I didn't want anybody just barging in.

"I really didn't mean to give her that false assumption. I love Kairi more than anything in the world." Hinata watched me as I walked over to my dresser and took a small box out of the top drawer. "I have been trying to find the right way to tell her, but it's not as easy as I thought it was going to be. Do you think she'll like it?" I opened the box, revealing a silver ring that was studded with diamonds. There was a message engraved on the inside that read, _"Love you always."_ Hinata grinned and nodded.

"I think that she'll love it," she told me. "My only suggestion is that you hurry up and tell her. You should apologize as well. She called you an ass and she's pretty upset with you." I nodded.

"Don't tell her about this, but could you tell her to meet me at my dorm tonight at 6?" Hinata nodded again.

"I'll let her know that you don't hate her either." I smirked and thanked her.

"That would probably be a good idea."

**XxOOOOOOOOOOOOOxX**

When Kairi came over at six, I wasn't surprised to see that she was still pissed with me. The first thing she did when she came in was chew me out for avoiding her and not even talking to her.

"The least that you could have done was told me that you needed some time to think!" she yelled. "But no, you have to scare the fuck out of me and make me worry." I felt kind of bad when tears started rolling down her cheeks. I really did scare her. I didn't mean to though.

When she finished, she turned her back to me and crossed her arms over her chest. I stuck a hand in my pocket, fumbling with the ring box.

"I'm really sorry Kairi," I apologized. "I would never be able to hate you, and you of all people should know that. You're the only one for me." Kairi slowly turned back around and looked at me with a sad face. I frowned at the tears that were rolling down her cheeks. I walked over to her and wiped the tears away with my thumb. "And I'm sorry about throwing you in the pool," I added. Kairi smiled and giggled.

"So what were you thinking about?" she asked me. I bit my bottom lip and let out a deep sigh.

"Do you forgive me?" I asked. Kairi nodded and wrapped her arms around me. I wrapped my arms around her as well, hugging her tightly. "I need to ask you one more question." Kairi pulled away from me and looked into my eyes with curiosity.

"What is it?" I took in a deep breath and slowly let it out. I reached back into my pocket and took out the small box. I held it out to her and watched as she stared at it with wide eyes.

"I love you more than anything Kairi," I told her. "I want to prove that to you. Will…… you marry me?" I opened the box and took the ring out. I looked at Kairi and saw that she had gone completely pale and her body was trembling. She opened her mouth to speak, but nothing would come out.

"Are you alright?" I asked, growing a bit more concerned about her condition. All she did was nod before she started falling to the ground. I was able to catch her before she hit the ground. Now she had me really worried. She was out cold and everything. Was this normal?

I picked her up off of the ground and laid her down on my bed. She would hopefully wake up soon. I just hoped that she was alright.

**XxOOOOOOOOOOOOOxX**

I waited for an entire hour Kairi finally woke up. I was relieved when she did. The whole time she had been unconscious, I've been sitting on my desk rolling the engagement ring around in my hand. I was nervous and a little scared I have to admit. I didn't really know if her passing out was a good thing or a bad thing.

As soon as she called out my name, is was over by her side. I was worried sick about her.

"Are you okay?" I asked, taking her hand in mine. She nodded and smiled wearily at me.

"I'm sorry about that," she apologized. I shook my head.

"You don't need to apologize. I'm just glad that you are alright."

"Am I still allowed to be Mrs. Sabaku?" My eyes widened, but I nodded. She sat up and held her hand out to me. I took it and carefully slid the ring onto her finger. She looked down at the glittering band and grinned at me.

"Can you walk me back to dorm?" she asked sweetly. "I still feel kind of light-headed.

"Why don't you just stay here tonight?" I offered.

"What about your roommate?" I asked. Gaara shrugged.

"He's staying over at his girlfriend's place this weekend. You're more than welcomed to stay here."

"Only if my new fiancé will be by my side when I fall asleep and will be there when I wake up tomorrow morning." I smirked at her and nodded.

"Are you hungry?" I asked. She shook her head. "Neither am I."

"Just turn out the light and get into bed. I'm exhausted." I went over to the light switch and turned it off. I made my way over to the bed and slid under the covers, lying down beside Kairi. I turned over on my side to face her and was immediately greeted with a kiss. I smirked at her, but I doubted that she could see me in the dark.

"What was that for?" I asked softly.

"Well, we'll be getting married, so I think I should be able to kiss you whenever I want to. The reason I kissed you this time was because you apologized for throwing me into the pool and for being an ass." I chuckled and wrapped an arm around her waist. She quickly turned her back towards me and snuggled in close. I kissed her on the back of her neck, making her giggle.

"Goodnight," she whispered.

"Goodnight Kairi," I whispered back, hugging her close to my body.

* * *

**_Well, I should probably be doing school work, but screw that for now. I have a good start on my Bob Dylan thesis paper, my next big test isn't until the first week of May. Yes, I'm still studying like crazy, but I'm not letting it control me. I have to give myself some time for what really matters to me._**

**_Okay, so I'm coming close to ending this story, or this story is nearing the end in other words. Probably two more chapters to go. I have an ending in mind, but everyone is probably going to hate me for it. I really don't mind though. I really wanted to use this ending somewhere, and I didn't want to use it for "Make Me Whole", because it's just coming out so well. Although it would probably fit better in that story, it's going along WONDERFULLY and I really don't want to stain the ending. I might create an alternate ending for those who don't like it, but it depends on how lazy I am feeling. Anyways, I mean I wanted to just quit writing this story all together, but I'm so close to the end, it seems kind of stupid to quit now._**

**_Alright. Thank you to the two people who reviewed for chapter 19. Thankyou to Lyris88 (my new fan XP) and NeferNeferi. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! PLEASE REVIEW!!_**

**_For those of you who haven't checked out my other stories, you should. I will be posting a new story with in the next few days under the name of blue mist dragon. Please check it out when you get the chance. It's a Sasuke x Naruto oneshot, with a bit of yaoi in it. I promise that it is really small, so those of you who don't like that type of stuff, you really don't need to worry. My friend kind of gave me an outline and I wrote everything that would be layered on top of it. It turned out pretty well if I do say so myself. _**

**_REVIEW!!_**


	21. Chapter 21

**_This is going to be the last chapter. I apologize to those who were fans to this story. I was going to make one more chapter, but I decided to end it here on a happy note. Some of you will probably be happy with this decision, since the I was planning on killing Gaara and Kairi in the next chapter, but I decided to end this on a happy note, even though I'm not in much of a good mood tonight. Anyway, thanks for being such loyal readers. I'm sorry about it being so short, but I hope that doesn't matter. Please review! Thanks all!_**

* * *

**Gaara's POV**

The big wedding day has finally come after almost over a year. We had both agreed that we wanted to wait until we got close to finishing school. We were graduating this year, so we figured that it was close enough. Of course, Kankurou was my best man, since he was my brother. Temari was Kairi's bridesmaid.

It was the big day and I honestly was nervous. This was the worst I have ever been. Standing at the front of the chapel, I swear I have never shaken so much in my entire life. I couldn't help it.

Kairi was so beautiful. She was wearing a white, flowing gown that had the sequins near the top and going down her side. Here hair was put up into a bun and there was a tiara on the top of her head.

My brother walked her down the isle, since her father was in prison and she didn't have any family members that could walk her down. Kankurou was more than happy to walk her down and she was more than happy to let him.

We stood before the priest as he talked on and on. I just wanted him to cut to the chase, and I could tell that Kairi did too. She kept caressing the back of my hand with her thumb which told me that she was nervous as well.

We eventually said our "I dos", which was a big relief. I slid the wedding band onto her ring finger and slid a gold band onto mine.

_"By the power invested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride."_ Kairi grinned as I pulled her close and cupped her cheek in my hand.

"This is the beginning," I whispered to her before leaning in and pressing my lips hard against her lips. We stayed that way for a few moments before I slowly pulled away. She looked up at me, a bright smile plastered on her face. I couldn't help but smile back. We were officially married and I just couldn't be any happier.

**XOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOX**

**Kairi's POV**

Gaara carried me into the apartment that we shared and dropped me down on the bed. I yelped as I hit the bed and bounced up. Gaara sat down beside me as I sat up. He looked at me questioningly as I stood up. I smirked at him and pointed to the zipper in the back of my dress.

"A little help would be much appreciated," I told him playfully. He nodded and unzipped the dress for me. I held the dress to myself and thanked him before heading over to the closet and grabbing a hanger out of it.

"I'll be right back," I told him as I went into the bathroom. I took off my gown and carefully hung it up on the back of the bathroom door. I then quickly got dressed into a ruffled black satin slip. I stood in front of the mirror and began to take my hair down. I then quickly ran a brush through my hair. After I had finished, I turned the light out and went back into the bedroom.

The lights were out and Gaara was already under the covers. His back was turned towards me and he didn't move when I entered the room. I quietly approached the bed and slipped under the covers beside him. He still didn't move, which kind of made me annoyed. He was undressed, except that he still had his boxers on.

"Are you awake?" I asked sweetly. I still got no response from him. I smirked evilly to myself and scooted in close to him. I propped myself up and leaned in close to him, nipping playfully at his neck. He finally reacted with a short gasp and he turned to face me. Through the dark, I could see a bit of an amused look on his face.

"Why did you do that?" he asked, trying to contain a smirk that was threatening to show through his mask.

"You were trying to ignore me," I told him innocently, running my index finger up and down his chest. He blinked at me and smirked.

"I think you're just trying to cause trouble." I squeaked as he brought a strong arm around me and pulled me down on top of him. He looked up at me with his haunting sea-green eyes, making me lose sense of reality. It wasn't until he stroked my cheek with the back of his hand that I came back from my short daze.

"Are you okay?" he asked, a slight hint of concern evident in his voice. I smiled slightly and nodded. I grabbed a hold of his wrist and pinned it down beside his head. I leaned in again, crushing my lips against his. Gaara kissed me back with the same deep kiss that I had given him. We separated after about a minute for a quick breath of air before our lips connected again. His free hand was now on the small of my back and was slowly inching its way towards my hip. I slowly loosened the grip I had on his other hand and he slipped it away.

The next time we separated, Gaara quickly flipped me over onto my back and was on top of me. He crushed his lips against mine, causing my body to stiffen. Seconds later, his tongue entered my mouth, causing my body to go through a wonderful sensation. He pulled away when our lungs were screaming for air. I was breathing heavily and looking up into his lustful eyes. He leaned in once more and massaged my neck with his lips. I closed my eyes as Gaara worked his way up to my lips and licked them. I opened my mouth and Gaara's tongue slipped in.

Everything else that happened that night is between me and Gaara. I woke up the next morning wrapped up in his arms. Pleasant warmth surrounded me, making me feel comfortable and safe. Gaara's warm breath tickled the back of my neck, making me smile. I peered over my shoulder and saw that Gaara was still sleeping. I carefully rolled over so that I could look at him. He looked absolutely precious, the way his features were all relaxed and peaceful. I could lay there forever and be fine, just as long as I would be able to watch Gaara sleep. I was looking forward to being able to wake up every morning and having Gaara be the first thing I see. This is the start of a wonderful life. As long as Gaara is in the picture, I'll be happy.


End file.
